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UN 'Relatively Optimistic' on Renewing Ukraine Grain Export Deal

A combine harvests wheat in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2022. (Reuters)
A combine harvests wheat in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2022. (Reuters)
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UN 'Relatively Optimistic' on Renewing Ukraine Grain Export Deal

A combine harvests wheat in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2022. (Reuters)
A combine harvests wheat in Russian-held part of Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2022. (Reuters)

The United Nations said Wednesday it was relatively optimistic about prospects for renewing an agreement that allows grain exports from war-torn Ukraine.

The 120-day Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-led deal agreed with Moscow and Kyiv, runs until November 19.

It spells out terms for exporting grain from Ukrainian ports blocked by the war Russia started in February, AFP said.

A second agreement signed in parallel allows the export of Russian food and fertilizers despite Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the invasion.

The Ukraine arrangement has allowed nearly nine million tons of grain to leave those ports and ease a global food crisis triggered by the invasion.

But uncertainty over whether the accord will be renewed has already caused prices of some food products to rise.

"We are keen to see that renewed promptly now. It's important for the market. It's important for just continuity," said Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs.

"And I'm still relatively optimistic that we're going to get that," said Griffiths.

"I'm happy that Martin is relatively optimistic that the grain deal is extended," Russian UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said. But he said Russia must see its own exports of grain and fertilizer allowed to transit as well.

"I've been saying for a long time already (that) the hurdles remain the same," he added.

The parties to the Black Sea accord are the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye, but the main negotiators in the grain deal renewal talks are the UN and Moscow.

Griffiths traveled recently to Moscow with Rebeca Grynspan, the secretary general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

He said that technically there is no need for a new agreement, but rather a need to reassess and simplify existing procedures.

"We're very keen not only to have that Black Sea operation renewed for as long as the parties would allow," he added, but also on "removing those impediments to Russian grain and fertilizer exports to happen."

Russia complains that even with the accord it is not able to sell these products because of sanctions against its financial and logistical sectors.

Griffiths said he had useful discussions on this Tuesday in Washington.

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World

470-kilo WWII Bomb Removed in Belgrade

This handout photograph taken on December 28, 2025 and released by Serbia's Ministry of Interior shows a 470-kg World War II aerial bomb, dropped on Nazi-occupied Belgrade in 1944, found in a construction site in the Serbian capital before being removed by Serbian bomb disposal experts. (Photo by Handout / SERBIAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS / AFP)
This handout photograph taken on December 28, 2025 and released by Serbia's Ministry of Interior shows a 470-kg World War II aerial bomb, dropped on Nazi-occupied Belgrade in 1944, found in a construction site in the Serbian capital before being removed by Serbian bomb disposal experts. (Photo by Handout / SERBIAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS / AFP)
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470-kilo WWII Bomb Removed in Belgrade

This handout photograph taken on December 28, 2025 and released by Serbia's Ministry of Interior shows a 470-kg World War II aerial bomb, dropped on Nazi-occupied Belgrade in 1944, found in a construction site in the Serbian capital before being removed by Serbian bomb disposal experts. (Photo by Handout / SERBIAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS / AFP)
This handout photograph taken on December 28, 2025 and released by Serbia's Ministry of Interior shows a 470-kg World War II aerial bomb, dropped on Nazi-occupied Belgrade in 1944, found in a construction site in the Serbian capital before being removed by Serbian bomb disposal experts. (Photo by Handout / SERBIAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AFFAIRS / AFP)

A 470-kilogram (1,000-pound) World War II aerial bomb was safely removed on Sunday from a construction site in a central district of Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, police said.

The US-made AN-M44 bomb was used during Allied air raids on German positions during the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi occupation in 1944.

Ahead of the bomb’s removal, the site, which is near a residential area and a shopping mall, underwent detailed reconnaissance "to ensure safe conditions," AFP quoted police as saying.

Residents were also told to remove vehicles and leave their homes if possible.
The bomb was transported to an army arms training ground 180 km (110 miles) from Belgrade, where it will be destroyed in the coming days.

Several unexploded bombs dating back to past wars have been discovered in Serbia in recent years, all of which were safely removed without detonating.

In September 2024, a century-old artillery shell weighing nearly 300 kilograms (660 pounds) was cleared from a construction site near the Serbian parliament in Belgrade.

Earlier that year, in April, a large bomb from the 1999 NATO bombing campaign was found in Nis, southern Serbia.

In 2021, a 242-kilogram (530-pound) World War II bomb was also removed from a construction site in a Belgrade suburb.

World

Has Iran Built an Espionage Network in Israel?

People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
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Has Iran Built an Espionage Network in Israel?

People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
People walk in the rain during stormy weather in the port of Tel Aviv, Israel, 27 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

For the past year, Israel has arrested dozens of Israeli citizens on suspicion of spying for Iran, Yedioth Ahronoth has reported on.

The Hebrew newspaper revealed on Saturday that some of the recruits were asked to photograph sensitive facilities and to collect information including documentation of Israeli army bases, strategic sites and homes linked to senior Israeli officials.

The newspaper said that since September 2024, Israeli authorities have uncovered 35 serious Iranian espionage cases. In some, individuals acted alone; in others, they were part of organized cells, with a mission to sow chaos, burn vehicles and carry out failed assassination plots.

It said the youngest of their recruits is a 13-year-old boy from Tel Aviv. Others had served in the reserves and regular forces.

They leaked sensitive information, including documentation of sensitive military bases, strategic sites and homes linked to senior Israeli officials.

The recruits included Mordechai “Moti” Maman, 72, of Ashkelon. He entered Iran twice and discussed with the agents the possibility of carrying out terror attacks in Israel.

The Iranian handlers discussed with him the option of assassinating senior figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

After Maman told them the level of security surrounding senior officials made such attacks impractical, the sides discussed alternative terror and espionage activities, including possible attacks on former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett or mayors. Maman was arrested in September 2024.

In October 2024, four cells were arrested, including a couple who had been in contact with Iranian agents since 2021 and groups of five to eight people on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran.

One of the cases involved seven Israelis who immigrated from Azerbaijan, including a father and son, suspected of maintaining ties for two years with operatives from Iran.

As part of that relationship, the suspects photographed military bases that later became targets in Iran’s ballistic missile attack last year. Some of the group were caught surveilling a senior Israeli official and his son, allegedly as part of an assassination plan.

Authorities also uncovered another case in which seven people aged 19 to 23 from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa were arrested on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran for several months. Their main assignment was to assassinate an Israeli nuclear scientist and a mayor.

In early 2025, another espionage case was uncovered, and an indictment was filed against an Israeli from Petah Tikva, on charges including contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.

According to the indictment, the recruit photographed the neighborhood of National Unity party leader Benny Gantz and a power station in Tel Aviv.

His handler contacted him via Telegram and offered payment through a digital wallet in exchange for carrying out security-related tasks. These included documenting security facilities, spraying political graffiti, arson attacks on vehicles and other acts.

During 2025, more than nine indictments have been filed against cells and individuals accused of spying for Iran, most of them Jews the newspaper said.
Investigations revealed that most of the spies had carried out various missions in exchange for payment.

The majority of the recruits had not travelled to Iran to complete their recruitment, but communicated with Iranians through social networks or during their presence in other countries.

World

Polls Open for Myanmar's 1st Election Since Military Seized Power

Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
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Polls Open for Myanmar's 1st Election Since Military Seized Power

Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT
Myanmar voters line up to cast ballots during the first phase of general election at a polling station in Naypyitaw, the capital city of Myanmar, 28 December 2025. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

Voters went to the polls Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar ’s first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate.

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in Parliament. The well-organized and funded Union Solidarity and Development Party, with its support from the military, is by far the strongest contender.

Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sunday’s first round being held in 102 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. The second phase will take place Jan. 11, and the third on Jan. 25. Final results are expected to be announced by February.

Critics call the election a sham to keep the army in power Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule that began when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term despite winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election.

They argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

The expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera, say opponents of military rule and independent analysts.

“An election organized by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalize all forms of dissent is not an election — it is a theater of the absurd performed at gunpoint,” Tom Andrews, the UN-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar, posted on X.

The United Nations also said Sunday that Myanmar needs free elections.

"It is critical that the future of Myanmar is determined through a free, fair, inclusive and credible process that reflects the will of its people," said the United Nations in Myanmar, adding the UN "stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their democratic aspirations.”

Holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbors like China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability.

Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmar’s ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the brutal war against their opponents.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.