World News: Impact of war on world ‘worsening’ – Gulf Digital News

World News: Impact of war on world ‘worsening’ – Gulf Digital News

KYIV: UN chief Antonio Guterres yesterday said that the consequences for the world of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are worsening, with 1.6 billion people likely to be affected.

“The war’s impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe, and speeding up,” the Secretary-General said, presenting the UN’s second report into the repercussions of the conflict.

He added that “for people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake.”

Guterres said that while this year’s food crisis is “about lack of access,” next year’s “could be about lack of food.”

“There is only one way to stop this gathering storm: the Russian invasion of Ukraine must end,” he pleaded in a speech.

The head of the world body said he had asked colleagues to help find “a package deal that allows for the safe and secure export of Ukrainian-produced food through the Black Sea, and unimpeded access to global markets for Russian food and fertilisers.”

“This deal is essential for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Guterres.

The UN report, led by diplomat Rebeca Grynspan, says that an estimated 94 countries, home to