- Wednesday, 8 April 2026
TRN Online
Looming Food Crisis
Claudia Isabel RittelRussia’s attack on Ukraine will have considerable impacts on global food security. The two countries account for about 30 percent of international cereal exports. Reduced supply may mean famine for millions of people.In normal times, Ukrainian farmers spend the first two weeks in March working hard to ensure a good harvest later in the year. This time, many did not fertilize fields. Instead, they were fighting to protect their country or had fled. Apart from Ukrainians, millions of people around the world will thus suffer an impact of the war. Ukraine has basically stopped exporting wheat. The ports are no longer operational, and many companies have closed down. Russian grain exports, moreover, have also been reduced considerably, though food is excluded from the sanctions that were imposed on Russia in March. However, professional observers report that international traders have voluntarily discontinued their Russian business. Compounding matters, Russia has declared it will stop grain exports. Global wheat prices have thus increased fast, from a comparatively high base.To some extent, higher energy costs are driving that trend too, says Christine Chemnitz, an agriculture analyst who works for the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, which is close to Germany’s Green party. Other relevant issues include uncertainty about future harvests and more expensive insurance premiums for freight ships navigating the Black Sea.Chemnitz says that the speculation on commodity exchanges so far has not had a major impact, while Chinese imports have made a difference. The People’s Republic has been buying huge volumes for a while and started importing wheat from Russia on 24 February, according to the news agency AP. That was the very day Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Christof Buchholz, the executive of an umbrella organization of cereal traders in Hamburg, states that global trade patterns are changing dramatically. Some observers believe that China may be storing cereals for geostrategic purposes.Martin Rentsch of the World Food Programme (WFP) warns that some countries will be unable to cope with higher prices and thus face serious consequences. He points out, for example, that wheat is the second most important staple food in Kenya, where local producers only supply about 10 percent of what consumers buy. The scenario is similar in other African and Asian countries. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), up to an additional 13 million people may now suffer from hunger. In the medium term, higher prices will affect the WFP, which provides food to people in crisis regions around the world. Its stores are currently full, Rentsch says, but higher prices mean the agency will not be able to buy as much as planned in the future unless its funding is increased. The tough choice will then be to either serve fewer people in humanitarian need or to reduce individual portions. The worst scenario would be having to cut hungry persons’ rations in order to save others from starvation.At this point, it is impossible to assess what global supply will look like in the coming months. Open questions include to what extent Ukrainian farmers can sow wheat now and harvest in the summer. -Development And Cooperation
Festival of onrnament searching in pond (photo feature)
It is said that the tradition of searching for ornaments in the pond of Tundaldevi (Vaishnavi) started during the reign of King Mandev during the Lichchavi era in Nepal. It is said that the ornaments of Tundaldevi were lost in the pond.
11 new cases, 36 recoveries in 24 hours
In 2,750 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests done in the past 24 hours, a total of 11 people were found infected with SARS-CoV-2, informed the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) in its regular update.
President Bhandari felicitates artist with various honours
Senior artist Bhuwan Thapa Chand and senior musician Shambhujeet Baskota were felicitated with the long service honour.
Discussion on local elections in ruling coalition meeting
Top leaders of the ruling coalition held a discussion on Sunday morning.
Police ascertain identity of all five people killed in Waling
The identities of five people who died in a jeep accident in Waling, Syangja have been revealed.
Indian jackfruit in Nepali market (Photo Feature)
Jackfruit does not get ripened in Nepal in this season but in the market, there are a lot of jackfruits. Jackfruits imported from the neighbouring country India has been flooding the Nepali vegetable market for a month now as the fruit is also used for making a curry.
Corruption would imperil country if not curbed: Speaker Sapkota
Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Agni Prasad Sapkota has called for a collective resolution to curb the continuously increasing corruption in the country, warning that it would imperil the country if not controlled.
Vulture breeding centre at CNP to close down
The vulture breeding centre at Chitwan National Park (CNP) is to shut down. The centre established in 2008 is closing down in view of the increasing number of vultures in the wild and the breeding not becoming impactful at the centre, the park officials said.
New runway in Gautam Buddha Int'l Airport to be operational from April 21
The new 3,000-metre runway in Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa will be brought into operation from April 21.
EC determines election symbol for parties
The election symbols for the local level election have been fixed and included in the ballot paper. The election of 753 local levels across the country is taking place on May 13.
Nation engrossed in election
The nation is presently in an election mood as the Election Commission and all the political parties are focused on the upcoming local level election on May 13.
Five killed in Syangja jeep accident
Five people have been killed in the Syangja jeep accident on Sunday. The Mahindra Jeep (Ga 1 Ja 7399) heading towards Banyatari from Waling has met with an accident at Firfire of Waling municipality 12.
One killed, three injured in road accident
Bajhang, April 17 : A person was killed and three others were injured when a jeep (Sudurpaschim Province 01-001 Cha 0095) met with an accident at Bithadchir Rural Municipality-4 near Deulekh bazaar on Saturday night. The deceased has been identified as Binod Bohara. Of the injured—Bhuji Devi Deurukhi, 101, of Jayaprithivi Municipality-11, Anju Bohara, 19, and Sinki Bohara, 40, both of Surma Rural Municipality-2, who were receiving treatment at local Deulekh primary health center, Bohara was referred to Dhangadhi, said Kamal Prasad Chaudhary, information officer for the district police office. The ill-fated vehicle was carrying the total nine people when the accident occurred, he said.
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12 injured in shooting at South Carolina mall; 3 detained
By MICHELLE LIU , COLUMBIA, S.C. Apr 17 , (AP) — Ten people were shot and two others injured in a shooting at a busy shopping mall in South Carolina’s capital that authorities do not believe was a random attack.Three people who had firearms have been detained in connection with the Saturday afternoon shooting at Columbiana Centre, Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said. He said at least one of those three people fired a weapon.“We don’t believe this was random,” Holbrook said. “We believe they knew each other and something led to the gunfire.”Authorities said no fatalities have been reported but that eight of the victims were taken to the hospital. Of those eight, two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, Holbrook said. The victims ranged in age from 15 to 73, he said.Daniel Johnson said he and his family were visiting from Alabama and were eating in the food court when they first heard shots ring out and started seeing people running.Johnson said people were screaming for their children and spouses, knocking over tables in the food court as they fled.“Everybody was trying to get outside,” Johnson said. “When I was coming out, you could see baby strollers turned over, people’s phones and left keys. It was kind of a hectic situation.”Johnson said he gathered his wife, daughter and son and began heading toward the exit after letting the crowd clear out for a bit.“My biggest thing was — and not to sound selfish — was to make sure that our family was OK and to get them out safely because this is not something that we love to do for Easter weekend.”Heavy police presence continued in the area hours after the shooting, though officers began letting more traffic through the streets surrounding the shopping centers and strip malls that are usually packed on weekends. Officers were also stationed outside a nearby hotel designated as a reunification area for people at the scene of the shooting and their families.Workers from a couple of stores remained clustered in the mostly empty parking lot Saturday evening, waiting for police to let them back inside to retrieve their car keys and personal belongings so they could leave. They said they did not hear or see anything during the shooting but followed the mall’s alert system and were evacuated by police shortly after. They declined to give their names, citing company policies.“Today’s isolated, senseless act of violence is extremely upsetting and our thoughts are with everyone impacted,” Columbiana Centre said in a statement. “We are grateful for the quick response and continued support of our security team and our partners in law enforcement.”The shooting is the latest in a rash of shootings at or near malls across the country.A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head Wednesday outside Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Officials said he was with a group of boys when they got into a dispute with a second group.On Tuesday, a Southern California shoe store owner mistakenly shot a 9-year-old girl while firing at two shoplifters at the Mall of Victor Valley, police said.And earlier this month, police said six people were killed and 12 others wounded in Sacramento, California, during a gunfight between rival gangs as bars closed in a busy area near the Downtown Commons shopping mall and the state Capitol.
