UK to host 2023 Eurovision Song Contest
Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine celebrate after winning the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest at Palaolimpico arena, in Turin, Italy, Saturday, May 14, 2022.
Luca Bruno | AP
The European Broadcasting Union confirmed that the UK will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.
“Following the decision that, regrettably, next year’s event could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons the EBU explored a number of options with the winning broadcaster,” the EBU said in a statement.
“As a result of discussions, the BBC, as runner up in the 2022 Contest, was invited by the EBU to act as Host Broadcaster for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.”
“Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra finished first back at the 2022 event in May, while Britain’s Sam Ryder came second with “Space Man.”
—Matt Clinch
Food inflation from the Russia-Ukraine war could last till 2024: CEO
Sunny Verghese, the CEO of major food and agri-business Olam Group, tells CNBC that it’s difficult to predict how much more food prices will increase.
Kremlin says Odesa strikes hit military infrastructure
Rescue teams dig through the rubble of buildings destroyed in overnight attacks in a search for survivors, in the city of Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region, on July 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Bobok AFP | Getty Images
A spokesperson for the Kremlin on Monday insisted that the strikes in Odesa at the weekend targeted military infrastructure.
Repeating an earlier statement from the defense ministry, Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the strikes would not influence the gain of exports from the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes on Saturday an act of barbarism.
—Matt Clinch
Wheat prices rise after Odesa attack
A fire destroys a wheat field as Russian troops shell fields to prevent local farmers from harvesting grain crops, Polohy district, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine.
Dmytro Smolyenko Future Publishing | Getty Images
Wheat futures prices for September on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 3.6% on Monday morning as traders showed caution on a grain export deal signed by Russia and Ukraine last week.
The two countries signed on Friday a UN-backed deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. The deal is significant for global food supplies, but also as it’s the first major agreement between the two sides since Moscow launched it’s unprovoked onslaught on Feb. 24.
But Ukraine said Saturday that Russian missiles had hit the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, throwing that new pact into doubt.
Russia likely struggling to repair combat vehicles, UK says
A view shows a military convoy of armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) on a road in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 27, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko Reuters
Posting one of its daily updates on Twitter, Britain’s defense ministry said it has located a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment facility near Barvinok, which is in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, close to the Ukrainian border.
It added that at least 300 damaged vehicles were at the facility, which included armored personnel trucks and tanks.
“In addition to its well documented personnel problems, Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair the thousands of combat vehicles which have been damaged in action in Ukraine,” it said in the update.
—Matt Clinch
