World Tour - Taiwan holds training drills

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

UN warns of global food crisis—We start today with dire warnings of a looming global food crisis.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters on Monday the war in Ukraine could result in “a hurricane of famine.”

AUDIO: Forty-five African and least developed countries import at least one-third of their wheat from Ukraine or Russia. Eighteen of these countries import at least 50 percent. This includes countries such as Burkina Faso, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Many of those countries already face food shortages due to conflicts closer to home. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could cut off their largest source of imported wheat, both immediately and next year.

Ukrainian farmers usually harvest wheat during the summer. And if the war drags on, it could disrupt their ability to plant next year’s crops.

Yangon residents queue for water—Next we go to Southeast Asia.

AUDIO: [Sound of water, people talking]

Residents in Myanmar’s commercial capital are using pails, tubs, and buckets to collect water from tanker trucks operated by aid groups. Rolling electricity blackouts in Yangon have cut access to water in many homes.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Burmese]

This man says they can use charcoal to cook when the electricity goes out. But they can’t live without water.

Myanmar has long had trouble with rolling blackouts, especially during the summer months, when demand is high. But the situation got worse after last year’s military coup. People stopped paying their bills and many civil servants walked off the job in protest.

Last week the junta announced even more service disruptions to the country’s power supply. It blamed rising gas prices and attacks on infrastructure by anti-coup fighters.

Taiwan holds training drills for reservists—Next to Taiwan.

AUDIO: [Sounds of talking, shooting]

Several hundred members of Taiwan’s military reserve participated in training exercises on Monday. Fears of a Chinese invasion have increased in the country since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a visit to the training, Taiwan’s president cited examples of Ukrainian citizens volunteering to join the fight against Russian forces. She said it showed the important role reserve units would play in defending their own country.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Mandarin]

This man praised the training and said when the time came, he would know what to do. The training simulates defending a beach near the capital Taipei.

Although Taiwan has functioned as an independent democracy for decades, China still considers it part of its territory. It has threatened to retake the island, by force if necessary.

Protesters occupy oligarch’s home—And finally, we end today in Europe.

AUDIO: [Street sounds]

Protesters on Monday briefly took over a house in London owned by a Russian oligarch. The mansion at 5 Belgrade Square is one of the city’s most expensive properties.

The protesters hung a banner from the balcony declaring the property had been “liberated.” Another banner declared, “You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you.”

AUDIO: We are planning to stay until Putin stops the war.

Western sanctions have allowed governments to seize property owned by wealthy Russians with close ties to Vladimir Putin. But these protesters say the process is taking too long.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called squatting in residential buildings illegal. But he said the government is working to identify appropriate uses for properties with owners subject to sanctions.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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