welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories — the un warns russia's blockade of ukraine could push tens of millions into severe hunger. it will have extraordinary consequences. we are already facing the worst food crisis since world war ii. ballmer you are talking about a declaration _ ballmer you are talking about a declaration of _ ballmer you are talking about a declaration of war _ ballmer you are talking about a declaration of war on _ ballmer you are talking about a declaration of war on global- declaration of war on global food security. a russian diplomat quits over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it bloody and needless. ahead of a meeting of pacific nations, president biden vows to protect taiwan militarily, if it's attacked. new calls for british prime minister borisjohnson to resign, as more photos emerge of lockdown gatherings at downing street. and the viral disease, monkeypox, continues its global spread — health officials say mass vaccinations aren't needed.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america, and around the globe. ukraine produces enough grain every year to feed 400 million people. along with russia, it exports one third of the world's entire wheat harvest — or, at least, it should. but russia's blockade of ukrainian ports means millions of tonnes of grain are going nowhere, prompting the head of the un's world food programme to call it a "declaration of war on global food security" that could push tens of millions of people into severe food shortages. it echoes concerns raised by the ukrainian government, and wider accusations that the kremlin is deliberately targeting food supplies. our economics editor faisal islam reports. across the world, food

and energy crises are hitting households, increasing social instability and hunger, and leading to whole country is going bust. sri lanka at first, but more are feared to be heading in the same direction. from southeast asia to the middle east, and it's also affecting the uk, too. with russia's war in ukraine making the supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here and across the world, according to one of britain's top bankers. many of the conversations here in davos have been what percentage likelihood you attach to a recession? i'll say 50—50. right now, thise emerging markets racked up debts and many perhaps dozens will go bust. is that how you see it? hopefully not dozens, but when you have political instability, cost of living crisis, also importing energy, it's going to be tough.

part of the problem is that the natural response that should bring down energy orfood prices — producing more — isn't working because, for example, russia is blockading ukraine's food exports. if we don't open those ports, you're talking about a declaration of war on global food security. it'll have extraordinary consequences. we are already facing the worst food crisis since world war ii. and when you take 400 million people that are fed by the food that comes out of ukraine, and you shut that off, and then you add on top of that fertiliser problems, droughts, food cost, fuel costs, we're looking at a hellstorm on earth. the world's biggest importers of wheat, the egyptians, told us they can cope for now. though prices are surging. the government is putting in place and utilising tools to limit that price increase, especially on the most vulnerable. we do have a high degree of resilience, in terms of our stocks of basic commodities, and we will continue to explore and to cooperate with our partners in alternative sources.

this forum is normally about a combination of high finance and high politics. so far, it's been about the most basic of commodities — food — and the soaring prices affecting everywhere, including britain. and the fear of many here is that this is not an accident. it's a conscious strategy, the weaponisation of famine by the kremlin. a standing ovation for president zelensky�*s video address. his deputy prime minister says the west needs to get ukraine's food exports past russia's ships. so, we need the assistance of our partners, international partners, to secure our exports through the seaports, so i mean from the defence point of view, to find a way or another solution, how to give the opportunity to ukrainian vessels. some sort of safe passage? safe passage, yes. events in ukraine have already proven how horrific,

but mountains of its grain, blocked from reaching the world's most hungry, could yet make that worse. faisal islam, bbc news in davos, switzerland. with me now is peter ceretti, who is a senior analyst at the eurasia group. they have issued their own report, food security in the coming storm. peter, thank you forjoining us. so we are talking about the weaponisation of famine, declaration of war on globalfood security, of famine, declaration of war on global food security, is how the head of the un world food programme called it. is it as simple as that? just how much damage is this blockade doing? yeah, i think the blockade is very significant. we see it as one of the main drivers of the rise in food prices that has happened over the last few weeks, but there are several others. we had covid—related disruptions that predated the war, rising fertiliser costs, rising energy costs and of

course logistical issues related to sanctioning and self sanctioning inside shipping markets, so it is a confluence of factors that is driving the rise in food prices we are seeing. partly the blockade, partly other issues. it seeing. partly the blockade, partly other issues.- partly other issues. if the blockade _ partly other issues. if the blockade were _ partly other issues. if the blockade were to - partly other issues. if the blockade were to be - partly other issues. if the i blockade were to be ended, partly other issues. if the - blockade were to be ended, if there were a way of getting the cargo outcome and there is a lot of it, clearly, how much of a difference will that make? i think the difference will be quite substantial. if we look at the estimates from the ukrainian minister of agriculture for the amount of plant that has been planted and fertilised for this year, it looks like production will be much better than we initially feared it would be in early 2020. the problem of course is that rain is piling up in the silos, and it needs to leave, otherwise when the harvest comes on injune, july, a lot of this year's production will be wasted because there will be nowhere for it to go. we really need to avert that worst—case scenario and get those ports unblocked so that we don't have a global food crisis. unblocked so that we don't have a globalfood crisis. 50

unblocked so that we don't have a global food crisis.— a global food crisis. so what is the for — a global food crisis. so what is the for that, _ a global food crisis. so what is the for that, then, - a global food crisis. so what is the for that, then, for - a global food crisis. so what is the for that, then, for the grain that is in silos, how long can that be kept in suitable condition before it has to be used, and honestly i take your point, once the next harvest comes in, where are you going to put it? harvest comes in, where are you going to out it?— going to put it? right, grains do have some _ going to put it? right, grains do have some shelf - going to put it? right, grains do have some shelf life, - do have some shelf life, particularly if the conditions are right and the storage facilities are properly built and it is nice and dry. but indeed these stocks need to leave the country. my understanding is that the overland transit routes are totally overwhelmed and the average wait time at the ukrainian borderfor trains average wait time at the ukrainian border for trains to leave the country with grain is something like 15 days right now, right, so having this build—up in the silos that might not be able to cleared quickly is very concerning, with the harvest for the next market year coming in just a few weeks. market year coming in 'ust a few weekafi market year coming in 'ust a few weekefi few weeks. and what is the state of play _ few weeks. and what is the state of play at _ few weeks. and what is the state of play at the - few weeks. and what is the l state of play at the moment? few weeks. and what is the - state of play at the moment? in various parts of the world it seems as if people are

struggling and it is notjust about cost, it is about provision, isn't it? again, david beasley at the world food programme has said it will result infamine, programme has said it will result in famine, and mass migration around the world. do you think it is that serious? i think the risk of instability is considerable, particularly in parts of the world that are already seeing conflict, unrelated to russia and ukraine. in our white paper that we released today, we along with our agricultural forecasting firm estimate that around 1.6 billion people around 1.6 billion people around the world are food insecure right now, 1.1 billion people are facing extreme property, so they are living on less than $2.29 a day, so that is really quite poor. something like 49.1 million are on the edge of famine at the moment. if our base case persists, which is a stalemate in the war in ukraine, a continuation of blocked ports and no solution for what is going on between

russia and ukraine, in terms of getting food shipments out, we think the number of people who are food insecure could rise to 1.9 billion by november, so that it missed a quarter of the world population. there is missed a quarter of the world population. those in extreme poverty would be about 1.3 billion, and the number at risk of falling into famine would be 56 million. so the problems could get much worse.- 56 million. so the problems could get much worse. very big numbers and — could get much worse. very big numbers and a _ could get much worse. very big numbers and a great _ could get much worse. very big numbers and a great cause - could get much worse. very big numbers and a great cause forl numbers and a great cause for concern. peter, thank you very much indeed. peter ceretti, thank you. much indeed. peter ceretti, thank yon-— a court in ukraine has jailed a 21—year old russian tank commander for life, for killing a civilian. it's the first war crimes trial since the invasion, three months ago. the soldier, vadim shishimarin, was convicted of killing 62—year—old 0leksandr shelipov in a village in the sumy region. he admitted shooting mr shelipov, but said he had been acting on orders, and asked forgiveness of the man's widow. meanwhile, a russian diplomat has quit over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it "bloody, witless

and absolutely needless". boris bondarev, a counsellor at russia's mission to the united nations in geneva, said he's never been more ashamed of russia as when it sent its troops across the border. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg spoke to mr bondarev on the phone in an exclusive interview. he not only resigned, but he basically stormed out. he launched a scathing attack on the kremlin, and he issued a statement on social media, saying he's never been so ashamed of his country, of the aggressive war unleashed by putin against ukraine, and against the entire western world. he said it was not only a crime against the ukrainian people, but also the people of russia. now, later i managed to get through to mr bondarev on the telephone, and he told me more about why he decided to resign from the russian foreign ministry. i strongly disagree and disapprove of what my government is doing since february, and i don't

want to be associated with it any longer. how difficult a decision was it? you know, it wasn't a decision like to do or not to do, it was just to do and when. so, i don't see any alternative. are you worried about your safety, after taking such a decision? well, i think you may say so. how shocked were you by what has happened after february the 24th by this offensive in ukraine? oh, i was shocked. as any normal person would have been. because, you know, the first news i got on the morning of february 21st, russian air force bombed

kyiv, and kharkiv, and last time those cities were bombed, it was during the second world war, by germans, and now it was by us. any russian must be very shocked, i think so. that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. in the uk, there's yet another twist in the so—called pa rtygate controversy, as new photographs have emerged of the prime minister, borisjohnson, drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtained by itv news, have sparked further accusations that the prime minister has been lying over his version of events, as our political editor chris mason reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what was happening in downing street. look at these pictures, obtained by itv news. the prime minister raising a glass, holding forth, bottles littering a table

as a senior colleague is given a send—off. and the rules at the time — no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. we now know there were two gatherings in number 10 that night. borisjohnson was asked about one of them in the commons six months ago. will the prime minister tell the house whether there was a party in downing street on the 13th of november? prime minister. mr speaker, no, but i'm sure that whatever happened, - the guidance was followed i and the rules were followed at all times. we now know at least one person at the drinks do was fined, but the prime minister was not. this is clearly not a work meeting, this is clearly a gathering, a social gathering, that was clearly against the rules at the time. now, borisjohnson knows this and he knew this all along, and he's just tried to lie to the british public,

and it seems like he's laughing at them now. i think it's appalling. people will be disgusted by it, i'm pretty certain of that. remember, angela rayner and labour's leader, keir starmer, are themselves subject to a police investigation over an alleged covid rules breach. before the pictures of the downing street do were published this afternoon, the prime minister was on a school visit in 0rpington, in south—east london, this morning. 0h! come on, come to our party, love from... that's so nice of you, thank you. have you invited him to a party? thank you very much. that's wonderful, thank you. after this invite from a pupil, he was asked by a journalist about the imminent report into lockdown parties by the senior civil servant sue gray. i'm, with great respect, not going to comment or give any running commentary on her report until we get it. and i think that, to be frank, the moment is not very far off. it can't be long now before i'll be able to say something. in bristol, there's anger

as people see the photos. it's just really annoying. i'd like to think that while he was saying what he was saying, it was genuine and we were all doing what he was asking us to do. and, quite clearly, he's not doing what he said at the time. i don't think it's surprising. kind of the pictures i think everyone expected to come out off the back of what everyone had heard. he made the rules and he broke the rules. - and he says he didn't, so he lies. _ tonight, the liberal democrats are asking how the prime minister avoided another fixed penalty notice. i think millions of people will be sitting at home tonight thinking that if it was them or anybody else pictured in that party, they would have received a fine. so, unless the met police can provide an urgent clarification as to why borisjohnson wasn't fined, then the police watchdog needs to step in and restore some transparency and public trust in this process. in response to these pictures, downing street say the police and the civil service investigations into what went on had access to all the information they needed — including photographs. 0ur political editor there chris mason with that story for us.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come — the viral disease monkeypox continues to spread in north america and europe. health officials say the outbreak does not require mass vaccinations. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletic events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will. mourn the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian

people from the day— of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she's left the spice girls. argh! i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, girl power. not geri. why? this is bbc news, the latest headlines: the un world food programme is warning that russia's blockade of ukraine could push tens of millions into severe hunger. a russian diplomat quits over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it bloody and needless.

in the next few minutes, joe biden will be gathering with the prime minister �*s ofjapan, australia and india for a meeting of the so—called quad group. meeting of the so-called quad frou -. ~ . meeting of the so-called quad i rou . _ . ., , . , meeting of the so-called quad f-rou.~ . ,. _, group. we have pictures of the leaders. we've _ group. we have pictures of the leaders. we've seen _ group. we have pictures of the leaders. we've seen narendra| leaders. we've seen narendra modi already. they are talks aimed at part at china's growing influence in the indo pacific region and some suggestions of agreements being made include greater scrutiny of illegal fishing made include greater scrutiny of illegalfishing in made include greater scrutiny of illegal fishing in the area which tends to be a finger point at china. the trip byjoe biden has already been making headlines, especially with the reply he gave at a news conference when he was asked about taiwan. reporter: are you willing to get involved militarily

to defend taiwan if it comes to that? yes. you are? it's a commitment we made. we are not... look, here's the situation. we agreed with the one china policy, we signed onto it and all the attendant agreements made from there but the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force is just not appropriate. it will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in ukraine. for more on this — lev nachman is a postdoctoral research fellow at the harvard fairbank center for chinese studies and joins us now from boston. thanks very much for your time. joe biden certainly didn't make much effort to play down the risks of beijing taking on taiwan, did he? he does feel

like he's pushing an ever harder line.— like he's pushing an ever harder line. , . ., , harder line. his warning was not particularly _ harder line. his warning was not particularly nuanced - harder line. his warning was not particularly nuanced but| not particularly nuanced but it's important to remember that the idea behind strategic ambiguity, a policy that the united states uses to describe its commit to whether or not it would intervene in a military invasion of taiwan, is not a matter of making it so that we never would say publicly if we would invade or not, it's about text realising under what conditions the united states would intervene during an invasion of taiwan. —— text realising. i think his comments needed more nuanced. given today's geopolitical tensions, especially with russia and ukraine, if there was an invasion, a high likelihood knighted —— the united states would intervene but it's not a guarantee and in a way does it within the strategic ambiguity teamwork. it's a matter president biden was not particularly nuanced in how he

phrased his comments. but does that perhaps _ phrased his comments. but does that perhaps suit _ phrased his comments. but does that perhaps suit the _ phrased his comments. but does that perhaps suit the us - phrased his comments. but does that perhaps suit the us at - phrased his comments. but does that perhaps suit the us at the i that perhaps suit the us at the moment? trying to reassert its influence to a degree in the pacific region and it's coming up pacific region and it's coming up against a number of countries who are also feeling that the rough edge of the beijing strategic approach in the region?— beijing strategic approach in the region? you know, going back to strategic _ the region? you know, going back to strategic ambiguity, | back to strategic ambiguity, part of the message is that under certain conditions, the united states will intervene and i think it's a matter of making that under certain conditions particularly clear, especially given the number of military threats that the prc has made towards taiwan, the ramping of rhetoric from xi jinping. it's important for the united states to demonstrate its commit into peace and security in the taiwan straight but it's important how we frame the message. i think even though strategic ambiguity is the us policy, president biden

should be careful to make sure his language is not overly blunt and could not be misinterpreted in the way it has in the last 24 hours. it’s has in the last 24 hours. it's forced white _ has in the last 24 hours. it's forced white house officials to say it's ok, no change in policy, we are still �*s picking on that same, as you say, strategic ambiguity. ——we are still sticking. 0ne strategic ambiguity. ——we are still sticking. one might wonder that unless beijing is clear military preparations in mind, why he would want to go so hard unless it's about building that coalition again over other pacific neighbours. i really take our president biden spoke with a grain of salt and at the messages... can we take it _ salt and at the messages... can we take it with _ salt and at the messages... can we take it with a _ salt and at the messages... can we take it with a grain of salt? you might get the nuance of what he's saying or feel that it's a bit blunt. from beijing's side of defence, it's pretty pointed stop.— pretty pointed stop. that's true, pretty pointed stop. that's true. but _ pretty pointed stop. that's true, but xi _ pretty pointed stop. that's true, but xi jinping -

pretty pointed stop. that's true, but xi jinping and - true, but xijinping and president biden have accord, they've spoken to each other, they've spoken to each other, they've spoken to each other, they've spoken on taiwan multiple times. the prc is aware of how biden presents himself in conferences, is prone to make more poignant statements than he thought to what needs to. this isn't the first time president biden has made such a statement, a few months ago a similar strongly worded statement towards taiwan which the white house quickly reacted and said, "this is not a change in policy." and even though president biden's wording was strong, it's not a change in policy. if there was a change in policy, there would be a clear rollout. you a change in policy, there would be a clear rollout.— be a clear rollout. you very much indeed. _ monkeypox is a viral illness which is normally found only in africa. it's a disease which can be passed from animals to humans — also on occasions from humans to humans. and now it is spreading among a number of countries in north america and europe, with more than a hundred cases reported so far. vaccines for small pox are proven to work against it, 0ur medical editor fergus walsh explains how monkeypox

has spread. more than a dozen countries in europe, north america and australia have reported cases of monkeypox, the biggest outbreak ever seen outside africa. but it is not another covid. experts stress the overall risk to the public is low. so, what is monkeypox? it's a virus found in animals, including monkeys and rats, in several african countries which occasionally infects people. the first outbreak in humans was over 50 years ago. it usually causes a mild illness, though it can occasionally be fatal. we've seen a few cases in europe over the last five years, just in travellers, but this is the first time we're seeing cases across many countries at the same time in people who have not travelled to the endemic regions in africa. what are the symptoms of monkeypox? symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear after infection. key among them is a rash, often on the face or genitals. this develops into blisters

and, finally, scabs. it can be mistaken for chickenpox. monkeypox usually resolves within two to four weeks. so, how do you catch it? monkeypox does not spread easily. it requires close contact, mainly skin to skin, and exposure to the blisters which contain the virus or contact with clothing or bedding of an infected person. it can spread through coughs and sneezes, but is much harder to catch than covid. many of the current cases are in gay or bisexual men. if you have a look at our website, bbc.com/news, we obviously have more on monkeypox which is possibly something you might be concerned with. but

something you might be concerned with.- something you might be concerned with. but on the british front _ concerned with. but on the british front pages, - concerned with. but on the british front pages, each . concerned with. but on the l british front pages, each and every one by financial times focusing once again on partygate. we still await a major report on that. bbc news. after a wet night across parts of england and wales, keep the umbrellas handy wherever you are during tuesday. there will be some sunny spells. it won't be wet all the time, but you may never be too far away from a shower that could be heavy, possibly thundery. now, low pressure is beginning to edge away. we have a flow of air coming in from the west—northwest to the uk. it is unstable, so along with those sunny spells, there will be some big clouds building at times with those showers breaking out. away from central, southeast and eastern england, where it could still be quite wet first thing, quite a bit of dry weather early on, probably chillest across western scotland, a few spots in low single figures. just wait for the showers to break out. after the rain's cleared away from the eastern side of england, hints of brightness, and then the showers break out here as well, so you can see them coming through. they will be accompanied by gusty winds.

as mentioned earlier, it doesn't mean it's going to be raining all the time, we mayjust have a brief shower and then a lengthy dry and bright spell afterwards. temperatures 12 celsius in stornoway, 18 celsius in london. most around 14—17 celsius, not too far from average for the time of year, perhaps a little bit below. a lot of dry weather to end the day as the showers fade away, but then overnight and into wednesday, from west then pushing eastwards, there will be some cloud and outbreaks of rain, which means as wednesday begins, the lower temperatures mid single figures in a few spots where you have the clearer skies across the eastern side of england. so, this latest batch of wet weather will push on through, mainly during wednesday morning, not much rain, though, into the early afternoon into east anglia and southeast england,

whereas elsewhere, it brightens up again, and it will be another afternoon of sunshine and scattered showers. temperatures pretty similar. wednesday is going to be a windier day, some gusts in excess of 40 mph, parts of scotland, northern england, perhaps the south coast of england as well. now, high pressure trying to build in for thursday, not having much success, as another weather front snakes its way in from the atlantic. it does mean there will be quite a bit of cloud around on thursday, some outbreaks of rain pushing in, some heavy showers in northern scotland. ahead of the system towards the southeast, although expected to cloud over, we mayjust see a few sunny spells, enough to lift temperatures back in a few spots into the low 20s, whereas elsewhere, it's as you were. now, high pressure does move in friday, and at least into the start of the weekend, settling things down. although it is high pressure, though, that will not translate into warmth.

this is bbc news. the headlines — the head of the world food programme has accused russia of having declared war on global food security. david beasley told business leaders at the world economic forum in switzerland that russia's blockade of ukraine's ports on the black sea threatened food supplies for 400 million people. a russian diplomat has resigned, over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it "bloody, witless and absolutely needless". boris bondarev, a counsellor at russia's mission to the united nations in geneva, said he's never been more ashamed of russia as when it sent its troops across the border. new photographs have emerged of prime minister, borisjohnson, drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtained by itv

news, are the latest in the so—called partygate controversy, prompting further