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The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Bezos, Sanchez deserve this luxury Italian wedding, actually
It's as if people who can't afford a $500 million yacht on which to have a pre-Venice wedding foam party think it's wrong for the world's third-richest person to lavishly celebrate his second marriage when, according to the Rome-based United Nations World Food Programme, "A total of 1.9 million people are in the grips of catastrophic hunger." It's rude to make Bezos think about inequality on his wedding weekend If I were Mr. Bezos, I'd hop in one of my rockets and fly the more than 300 miles from Venice to Rome just to give those bullies at the World Food Programme a piece of my mind, and definitely not something like a donation at least equal to twice the cost of my wedding. It's outrageous to suggest income inequality is a thing when a perfectly nice billionaire who might one day give his delivery drivers time to pee is out here planning a celebrity-studded three-day event showcasing a lifestyle few could imagine. Which part of "this is his special weekend" do you not understand?, I ask while not checking my previously empty bank account to make sure Bezos has deposited the money I'm not being paid. Opinion: Why is Trump focused on dropping bombs while I drop $6 for ground beef? Those mad at Bezos' wedding haven't been paid $1 million to not be mad The reality is this, which I'm pretty sure is in the Bible: People who already have nice things deserve more nice things. And I'm not just saying that because I currently use Scotch tape for wound care and Bezos has promised me a lifetime supply of Band-Aids from Amazon. Rude nonbillionaire protesters went so far as to unfurl a massive banner in St. Mark's Square in Venice that read: "IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX." While that is technically true thanks to the tyranny of math, it's an outrageous and hurtful thing to suggest about a noble and fantastic man who has in no way purchased my praise. Make 'eat the rich' Great Again: Musk, Trump and Bezos have led me to reconsider my stance on eating the rich | Opinion Just because a multibillionaire doesn't need multibillions and could devote a large swath of his wealth to making the world a better place without impacting his lavish lifestyle even a little ... I forgot where I was going with that. The overarching point is, "Shut up, protesters! That banner might have hurt Mr. Bezos' feelings, and I will defend his feelings at any cost, or, more specifically, at the cost of the $1 million I was DEFINITELY NOT given to write this." Bezos-Sanchez wedding will be perfect, just like my free yacht Some are looking at the sure-to-be wondrous and totally justified Bezos-Sanchez wedding and decrying the rise of oligarchs. But I ask you, if we didn't have oligarchs, wouldn't we have to remove that word from all the world's dictionaries and rewrite books like F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"? Do you know what it would cost to fix all that? Probably less than the Bezos-Sanchez wedding, but still ... a lot. So when you look at photos of celebrities like Oprah or Kim Kardashian or Ivanka Trump snacking on Venetian crostinis topped with lightly braised Amazon-worker meat, or when you feel inclined to envision the good that could come from such wasted largesse, I implore you to cram it and get back to your poor, wretched life. And so help me, I'm not just saying that because Bezos promised me a mega yacht he's no longer using, $1 million and an Amazon Prime Video licensed documentary about my life of impeccable integrity. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
You're not really mad at the Bezos, Sánchez luxury Venice wedding. You're just poor.
It's outrageous to suggest income inequality is a thing when a perfectly nice billionaire who might one day give his delivery drivers time to pee is out here planning a celebrity-studded event. Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (handsome) and broadcaster Lauren Sánchez (beautiful) absolutely deserve to have a glorious and uncriticized luxury wedding in Venice on this last weekend in June, and I'm not just saying that because Bezos paid me $1 million. The internet has been ablaze lately with gripes and complaints about this lovely couple's planned nuptials, which are estimated to cost upwards of a totally reasonable $35 million, none of which is going to me in exchange for defending the tech billionaire and arguing he is awesome and above reproach. It's as if people who can't afford a $500 million yacht on which to have a pre-Venice wedding foam party think it's wrong for the world's third-richest person to lavishly celebrate his second marriage when, according to the Rome-based United Nations World Food Programme, 'A total of 1.9 million people are in the grips of catastrophic hunger.' It's rude to make Bezos think about inequality on his wedding weekend If I were Mr. Bezos, I'd hop in one of my rockets and fly the more than 300 miles from Venice to Rome just to give those bullies at the World Food Programme a piece of my mind, and definitely not something like a donation at least equal to twice the cost of my wedding. It's outrageous to suggest income inequality is a thing when a perfectly nice billionaire who might one day give his delivery drivers time to pee is out here planning a celebrity-studded three-day event showcasing a lifestyle few could imagine. Which part of 'this is his special weekend' do you not understand?, I ask while not checking my previously empty bank account to make sure Bezos has deposited the money I'm not being paid. Opinion: Why is Trump focused on dropping bombs while I drop $6 for ground beef? Those mad at Bezos' wedding haven't been paid $1 million to not be mad The reality is this, which I'm pretty sure is in the Bible: People who already have nice things deserve more nice things. And I'm not just saying that because I currently use Scotch tape for wound care and Bezos has promised me a lifetime supply of Band-Aids from Amazon. Rude nonbillionaire protesters went so far as to unfurl a massive banner in St. Mark's Square in Venice that read: 'IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX.' While that is technically true thanks to the tyranny of math, it's an outrageous and hurtful thing to suggest about a noble and fantastic man who has in no way purchased my praise. Make 'eat the rich' Great Again: Musk, Trump and Bezos have led me to reconsider my stance on eating the rich | Opinion Just because a multibillionaire doesn't need multibillions and could devote a large swath of his wealth to making the world a better place without impacting his lavish lifestyle even a little … I forgot where I was going with that. The overarching point is, 'Shut up, protesters! That banner might have hurt Mr. Bezos' feelings, and I will defend his feelings at any cost, or, more specifically, at the cost of the $1 million I was DEFINITELY NOT given to write this.' Bezos-Sánchez wedding will be perfect, just like my free yacht Some are looking at the sure-to-be wondrous and totally justified Bezos-Sánchez wedding and decrying the rise of oligarchs. But I ask you, if we didn't have oligarchs, wouldn't we have to remove that word from all the world's dictionaries and rewrite books like F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' and Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle'? Do you know what it would cost to fix all that? Probably less than the Bezos-Sánchez wedding, but still … a lot. So when you look at photos of celebrities like Oprah or Kim Kardashian or Ivanka Trump snacking on Venetian crostinis topped with lightly braised Amazon-worker meat, or when you feel inclined to envision the good that could come from such wasted largesse, I implore you to cram it and get back to your poor, wretched life. And so help me, I'm not just saying that because Bezos promised me a mega yacht he's no longer using, $1 million and an Amazon Prime Video licensed documentary about my life of impeccable integrity. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Ukraine turns to Africa in its struggle against Russia
FILE PHOTO: Bags of food aid are prepared for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Bags of food aid are prepared for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Viktor Bort, former Charge d'Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy, and Patrick Teixeira, Deputy Country Director of WFP Mauritania, stand with Ukraine-donated supplies during a ceremony marking the arrival of Ukraine-donated supplies, as part of the EU and U.S. supported 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative, that will be distributed to refugees by the World Food Programme, in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on August 29, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Workers prepare bags of food aid for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Workers prepare bags of food aid for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Ukraine turns to Africa in its struggle against Russia NOUAKCHOTT - On Africa's dry western tip, Mauritania has become an unlikely staging post for Ukraine's increasingly global struggle with its adversary Russia. Kyiv's new embassy in the country's capital Nouakchott - among eight it has opened in Africa since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine - has overseen food aid deliveries to refugees from neighbouring Mali, embassy and aid officials say. Kyiv is also offering to train Mauritanian soldiers, Ukraine's top envoy to Africa told Reuters, amid tension between Mauritania and Mali, where Moscow backs government forces against Tuareg rebels. Moscow's soldiers and mercenaries guard presidents in several West and Central African countries, while Russian mining companies are entrenched in the Sahel region that includes Mali. Russia's military presence in the Sahel "undermined stability", the envoy, Maksym Subkh said in an interview in Kyiv. "Ukraine is ready to continue training officers and representatives of the Mauritanian armed forces, to share the technologies and achievements that Ukraine has made" on the battlefield against Russia, Subkh said, adding that Ukraine had previously provided such training prior to Russia's invasion. The Mauritanian government did not respond to a request for comment about Ukraine's offer of more training. Russia's embassy in Mauritania did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier in June, the Kremlin said Russia would increase cooperation with African countries including in sensitive areas such as defence. Russia is the largest weapons supplier to Africa, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Reuters' interviews with four senior Ukrainian officials, two aid officials and Western diplomats and analysts for this story, along with access to new missions in Mauritania and Democratic Republic of Congo, reveal new details about Kyiv's Africa strategy including the deliveries of aid to Malian refugees, the proposal to train Mauritania's military, and the broader bid to counter Russia's much more entrenched presence. Early in the Ukraine war, many African countries declined to take Kyiv's side at the United Nations, even after Russia's bombing of Ukraine's ports drove up prices on the continent as exports of food and fertiliser were curtailed. Months later, Ukraine produced its first Africa strategy, a public document. The stated goals were to counter Russia's narrative and increase trade and investment on a continent that remembers Russian support in the Cold War and Moscow's stance against apartheid. Subkh was appointed to lead the effort, and Kyiv has since opened eight out of 10 new embassies announced in 2022, he said, bringing to 18 the number of missions Ukraine has in Africa. Host countries include Ivory Coast and Congo, which condemned Russia's invasion early on. Kyiv plans to open an embassy this year in Sudan, where Russia is accused by the U.S. of arming both sides in a brutal conflict. Russia denies a role there. However, Kyiv cannot match an opponent with deep commercial and security ties, including a long-standing presence of Moscow's intelligence agencies. In total, Russia has around 40 missions in Africa, and recently announced plans to open seven more. FIGHT FOR FREEDOM? Ukraine wants to persuade African nations that its fight against Russia, its Soviet-era master, has parallels with their own efforts to overcome the legacy of European colonialism, Subkh said. Despite the offer of military training, Ukraine's wartime effort to win African allies has largely focused on food. Kyiv says it has sent nearly 300,000 tonnes as aid, distributed through the World Food Programme (WFP) under an EU and U.S.-financed scheme called Grain from Ukraine that rivals a similar Russian food aid plan for Africa. The Ukrainian-branded aid has reached 8 million people in 12 countries, the European Policy Centre, a think-tank, said in April. Recipients have included Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya and Sudan. In Mauritania it has mostly been destined for Mbera, West Africa's largest refugee camp, housing soaring numbers of Malians fleeing the Russia-backed forces across the border. And after the reopening of Black Sea ports bombarded and blockaded by Russia in the first two years of war, Ukraine exported nearly 10 million tonnes of grain to Africa in 2024, almost double the previous year, agriculture ministry data shows. By showing it is a major alternative to Russian food supplies, Ukraine hopes African nations that have maintained neutrality over the war will begin to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. "Maintaining its role as one of the guarantors of the world's food security, Ukraine can prevent Russia from using food supplies as political leverage," Roman Sereda, Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Nouakchott, where Russia has had an embassy for six decades, said in an interview. Ukraine is gaining visibility. In April, Volodymyr Zelenskiy became the first Ukrainian president to visit South Africa, a close Russia ally. He called for recognition of Ukraine's struggle and playing up potential deals on energy, fertiliser production and security. South African foreign ministry spokesman Chrispin Phiri said both Ukraine and Russia were allies. He said South Africa advocated for peace and was mediating on humanitarian issues such as the return of Ukrainian children Kyiv says were taken to Russia. However, South African analyst Tim Murithi said Ukraine's Africa strategy lacked coherence, pointing out that Kyiv had not nominated an ambassador in Ethiopia, a key posting that countries including Russia use to engage with the influential African Union, based in Addis Ababa. Ukraine's commercial exports are heavily tilted towards North Africa, with sub-Saharan nations including Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria buying a fraction of what they imported before the war, Ukrainian data shows. Mauritania itself bought far less food from Ukraine last year than in 2021. There have been setbacks in Ukraine's Africa drive, such as the downgrading of a planned October 2024 Ukraine-Africa summit to a video conference. Moscow hosted a well-attended Africa summit in 2023. "At the beginning, they wanted to have it physically in Kyiv," said Jean-Yves Ollivier, chairman of the Brazzaville Foundation, a conflict prevention organisation that Ukraine consulted on the summit. The downgrade has not previously been reported. Subkh did not respond to a request for comment about the event. MALI REFUGEES At times, Ukraine's higher profile has been controversial. Mali broke off relations with Kyiv over a Tuareg rebel attack in July that wiped out 47 Malian soldiers and 84 Russian fighters supporting the government, after a Ukrainian intelligence official appeared to suggest Ukrainian involvement. Ukraine has since strongly denied it was involved. Ukraine had no role in covert operations in the region, Subkh said. Now, a small quantity of Ukraine's aid has reached the Malian refugees fleeing the violence, WFP's spokesperson in Mauritania confirmed in response to questions for this story. The camp's population has almost tripled in two years to about 250,000 people. Three deliveries amounting to a total of about 1,400 tonnes had arrived in Mauritania by December, one of Ukraine's diplomats in Nouakchott, Viktor Bort, said. The split peas, vegetable oil and wheat were still being distributed to Mbera in May, the WFP spokesperson said. Bort, 29, who staffed the mission alone when it opened in May 2024, told Reuters his focus was to build relationships in the government and oversee the deliveries of aid to WFP for the Malian refugees, who he said were fleeing Russians. Kyiv's senior Africa envoy, Subkh, said aid distribution was decided by WFP. Ukraine's contributions were strictly humanitarian and the country opposed politicising aid, he said. Mauritania's communications ministry said the government had accepted Ukrainian food aid deliveries. It said it did not know that Ukrainian aid had reached the camp. THINLY STAFFED Ukraine's new missions are thinly staffed and it has sought support from volunteers and donors. Two diplomats from other countries said the embassy official in Mauritania, Bort, initially travelled without security, relying on friendly envoys from other countries for help, but quickly gained notice for his energy and networking. Sereda, the chargé d'affaires who joined Bort some months ago, said Ukraine's outreach and aid deliveries had improved Kyiv's reputation and Mauritanians' understanding of its position, with increased trade links hopefully to follow. The Mauritanian government declined to comment. Elsewhere, aid recipients have included war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ukraine's ambassador Vasyl Hamianin told Reuters the two countries were discussing long-term agriculture and food security agreements. "We accepted the Ukrainian embassy in a spirit of openness and cooperation. There is no need to link its presence to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Congo's presidential office said in a statement. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Saba Yemen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
"The World Food Programme: Aid brought in is less than Gaza's needs, suffices for one day
Gaza - Saba: The World Food Programme announced on Wednesday that it had sent only nine thousand tons of food aid to the Gaza Strip since May 19 last, an amount 'less than the food required for one day' for the residents of the Strip, amid the ongoing Israeli genocide since October 7, 2023. The UN programme said in a post on platform 'X' that this aid is 'less than the amount of food needed for one day, not a month' for all residents of the Strip. The programme clarified that it is 'ready to scale up operations' in the besieged Strip. It added: 'We need access and better conditions to carry out our tasks safely'. The World Food Programme stressed that 'the time to act is now'. Since March 2, the enemy has tightly closed the crossings of the Gaza Strip to trucks carrying supplies and aid piled up at the border. The enemy has only allowed limited numbers of aid trucks to enter via the Kerem Shalom crossing, which it controls east of Rafah city, while Palestinians in Gaza need at least 500 trucks per day. Since October 7, 2023, the enemy, with US support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international appeals and International Court of Justice orders to halt it". Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Africa on a shoestring: Ukraine seeks allies with aid and embassies
FILE PHOTO: Bags of food aid are prepared for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Bags of food aid are prepared for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Workers prepare bags of food aid for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Viktor Bort, former Charge d'Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy, and Patrick Teixeira, Deputy Country Director of WFP Mauritania, stand with Ukraine-donated supplies during a ceremony marking the arrival of Ukraine-donated supplies, as part of the EU and U.S. supported 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative, that will be distributed to refugees by the World Food Programme, in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on August 29, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Workers prepare bags of food aid for distribution by the World Food Programme, part of the EU and U.S. backed 'Grain from Ukraine' initiative at a warehouse in Nouakchott, Mauritania, November 19, 2024. WFP/ Nardjesse Rahmoune/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo NOUAKCHOTT - On Africa's dry western tip, Mauritania has become an unlikely staging post for Ukraine's increasingly global struggle with its adversary Russia. Kyiv's new embassy in the country's capital Nouakchott - among eight it has opened in Africa since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine - has overseen food aid deliveries to refugees from neighbouring Mali, embassy and aid officials say. Kyiv is also offering to train Mauritanian soldiers, Ukraine's top envoy to Africa told Reuters, amid tension between Mauritania and Mali, where Moscow backs government forces against Tuareg rebels. Moscow's soldiers and mercenaries guard presidents in several West and Central African countries, while Russian mining companies are entrenched in the Sahel region that includes Mali. Russia's military presence in the Sahel "undermined stability", the envoy, Maksym Subkh said in an interview in Kyiv. "Ukraine is ready to continue training officers and representatives of the Mauritanian armed forces, to share the technologies and achievements that Ukraine has made" on the battlefield against Russia, Subkh said, adding that Ukraine had previously provided such training prior to Russia's invasion. The Mauritanian government did not respond to a request for comment about Ukraine's offer of more training. Russia's embassy in Mauritania did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier in June, the Kremlin said Russia would increase cooperation with African countries including in sensitive areas such as defence. Russia is the largest weapons supplier to Africa, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Reuters' interviews with four senior Ukrainian officials, two aid officials and Western diplomats and analysts for this story, along with access to new missions in Mauritania and Democratic Republic of Congo, reveal new details about Kyiv's Africa strategy including the deliveries of aid to Malian refugees, the proposal to train Mauritania's military, and the broader bid to counter Russia's much more entrenched presence. Early in the Ukraine war, many African countries declined to take Kyiv's side at the United Nations, even after Russia's bombing of Ukraine's ports drove up prices on the continent as exports of food and fertiliser were curtailed. Months later, Ukraine produced its first Africa strategy, a public document. The stated goals were to counter Russia's narrative and increase trade and investment on a continent that remembers Russian support in the Cold War and Moscow's stance against apartheid. Subkh was appointed to lead the effort, and Kyiv has since opened eight out of 10 new embassies announced in 2022, he said, bringing to 18 the number of missions Ukraine has in Africa. Host countries include Ivory Coast and Congo, which condemned Russia's invasion early on. Kyiv plans to open an embassy this year in Sudan, where Russia is accused by the U.S. of arming both sides in a brutal conflict. Russia denies a role there. However, Kyiv cannot match an opponent with deep commercial and security ties, including a long-standing presence of Moscow's intelligence agencies. In total, Russia has around 40 missions in Africa, and recently announced plans to open seven more. FIGHT FOR FREEDOM? Ukraine wants to persuade African nations that its fight against Russia, its Soviet-era master, has parallels with their own efforts to overcome the legacy of European colonialism, Subkh said. Despite the offer of military training, Ukraine's wartime effort to win African allies has largely focused on food. Kyiv says it has sent nearly 300,000 tonnes as aid, distributed through the World Food Programme (WFP) under an EU and U.S.-financed scheme called Grain from Ukraine that rivals a similar Russian food aid plan for Africa. The Ukrainian-branded aid has reached 8 million people in 12 countries, the European Policy Centre, a think-tank, said in April. Recipients have included Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya and Sudan. In Mauritania it has mostly been destined for Mbera, West Africa's largest refugee camp, housing soaring numbers of Malians fleeing the Russia-backed forces across the border. And after the reopening of Black Sea ports bombarded and blockaded by Russia in the first two years of war, Ukraine exported nearly 10 million tonnes of grain to Africa in 2024, almost double the previous year, agriculture ministry data shows. By showing it is a major alternative to Russian food supplies, Ukraine hopes African nations that have maintained neutrality over the war will begin to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. "Maintaining its role as one of the guarantors of the world's food security, Ukraine can prevent Russia from using food supplies as political leverage," Roman Sereda, Ukraine's chargé d'affaires in Nouakchott, where Russia has had an embassy for six decades, said in an interview. Ukraine is gaining visibility. In April, Volodymyr Zelenskiy became the first Ukrainian president to visit South Africa, a close Russia ally. He called for recognition of Ukraine's struggle and playing up potential deals on energy, fertiliser production and security. South African foreign ministry spokesman Chrispin Phiri said both Ukraine and Russia were allies. He said South Africa advocated for peace and was mediating on humanitarian issues such as the return of Ukrainian children Kyiv says were taken to Russia. However, South African analyst Tim Murithi said Ukraine's Africa strategy lacked coherence, pointing out that Kyiv had not nominated an ambassador in Ethiopia, a key posting that countries including Russia use to engage with the influential African Union, based in Addis Ababa. Ukraine's commercial exports are heavily tilted towards North Africa, with sub-Saharan nations including Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria buying a fraction of what they imported before the war, Ukrainian data shows. Mauritania itself bought far less food from Ukraine last year than in 2021. There have been setbacks in Ukraine's Africa drive, such as the downgrading of a planned October 2024 Ukraine-Africa summit to a video conference. Moscow hosted a well-attended Africa summit in 2023. "At the beginning, they wanted to have it physically in Kyiv," said Jean-Yves Ollivier, chairman of the Brazzaville Foundation, a conflict prevention organisation that Ukraine consulted on the summit. The downgrade has not previously been reported. Subkh did not respond to a request for comment about the event. MALI REFUGEES At times, Ukraine's higher profile has been controversial. Mali broke off relations with Kyiv over a Tuareg rebel attack in July that wiped out 47 Malian soldiers and 84 Russian fighters supporting the government, after a Ukrainian intelligence official appeared to suggest Ukrainian involvement. Ukraine has since strongly denied it was involved. Ukraine had no role in covert operations in the region, Subkh said. Now, a small quantity of Ukraine's aid has reached the Malian refugees fleeing the violence, WFP's spokesperson in Mauritania confirmed in response to questions for this story. The camp's population has almost tripled in two years to about 250,000 people. Three deliveries amounting to a total of about 1,400 tonnes had arrived in Mauritania by December, one of Ukraine's diplomats in Nouakchott, Viktor Bort, said. The split peas, vegetable oil and wheat were still being distributed to Mbera in May, the WFP spokesperson said. Bort, 29, who staffed the mission alone when it opened in May 2024, told Reuters his focus was to build relationships in the government and oversee the deliveries of aid to WFP for the Malian refugees, who he said were fleeing Russians. Kyiv's senior Africa envoy, Subkh, said aid distribution was decided by WFP. Ukraine's contributions were strictly humanitarian and the country opposed politicising aid, he said. Mauritania's communications ministry said the government had accepted Ukrainian food aid deliveries. It said it did not know that Ukrainian aid had reached the camp. DIPLOMACY ON A SHOESTRING Ukraine's new missions are thinly staffed and it has sought support from volunteers and donors. Two diplomats from other countries said the embassy official in Mauritania, Bort, initially travelled without security, relying on friendly envoys from other countries for help, but quickly gained notice for his energy and networking. Sereda, the chargé d'affaires who joined Bort some months ago, said Ukraine's outreach and aid deliveries had improved Kyiv's reputation and Mauritanians' understanding of its position, with increased trade links hopefully to follow. The Mauritanian government declined to comment. Elsewhere, aid recipients have included war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ukraine's ambassador Vasyl Hamianin told Reuters the two countries were discussing long-term agriculture and food security agreements. "We accepted the Ukrainian embassy in a spirit of openness and cooperation. There is no need to link its presence to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Congo's presidential office said in a statement. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
