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KYIV — The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since the Russian invasion in February left the port of Odessa on Monday morning under a landmark deal to lift Moscow's naval blockade in the Black Sea. 

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, who brokered the plan along with Turkey, welcomed the announcement while Kyiv said it would bring "relief for the world" if Moscow held up its side of the accord.

The five-month halt of deliveries from war-torn Ukraine — one of the world's biggest grain exporters — has contributed to soaring food prices, hitting the world's poorest nations especially hard.

Officials said the Razoni cargo ship, registered in Sierra Leone, was making its way through a specially cleared corridor in the mine-infested waters of the Black Sea with 26,000 tonnes of maize on board. 

"It is expected in Istanbul on August 2. It will then continue its journey after it has been inspected in Istanbul," the Turkish foreign minister said in a statement.

Other convoys would follow, respecting the maritime corridor and the agreed formalities, the statement said.

Last month, Ukraine and Russia signed the breakthrough pact — the first significant accord involving the warring sides since the invasion — with Turkey and the United Nations aimed at getting millions of tonnes of trapped Ukrainian grain to world markets.

But Russian strikes on the Odessa Port the day after the deal was signed sparked outrage from Ukraine's allies and cast doubt over the accord.

Guterres, according to a UN statement, "hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the initiative signed, and that this will bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security, especially in the most fragile humanitarian contexts".

Ships 'waiting to leave' 

"Ensuring that existing grain and foodstuffs can move to global markets is a humanitarian imperative," he added.

Guterres also said that the World Food Programme was planning to "purchase, load and ship an initial 30,000 metric tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a UN-chartered vessel", and there would be further details in the coming days.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday marked a "day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as the first Ukrainian grain leaves Odessa after months of Russian blockade".

The Kremlin on Monday hailed it as a "very positive" development and a "good opportunity to test the effectiveness of the mechanisms that were agreed during talks in Istanbul". 

However, the long-awaited consignment  is just the beginning of a backlog and Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said 16 more ships were already "waiting for their turn" to leave Odessa. 

"These are the ships that were blocked from the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion," he said, adding that new requests for ships to dock and load were coming continuously.

"We are planning to reach full efficiency of shipments of agricultural products during the following weeks," he added.

The departure of the Razoni comes one day after Ukrainian agricultural magnate Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife Raisa were killed when a missile struck their house in the battle-scarred city of Mykolaiv in the south.

Vadatursky owned major grain exporter Nibulon and was previously decorated with the prestigious "Hero of Ukraine" award.

Mykolaiv — which has been attacked frequently — is the closest Ukrainian city to the southern front where Kyiv's forces are looking to launch a major counter-offensive to recapture territory lost after Russia's February invasion.

The governor said on Monday that three people had been injured in "massive" Russian shelling overnight that damaged homes and damaged humanitarian supplies.

Despite progress on the grain exports, there was also Russian shelling in the war-scarred east of the country, where Russian troops have been fighting deeper into the Donbas region.

The head of the industrial Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian shelling over the past 24 hours had killed three people.

The Razoni's departure came after Russian authorities in the Crimean Black Sea peninsula — seized by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014 — said a small explosive device from a commercial drone, likely launched nearby, hit the navy command in Sevastopol.

The local mayor blamed "Ukrainian nationalists" for the attack that forced the cancellation of festivities marking Russia's annual holiday celebrating the navy.

Ukraine's navy accused Russia of staging the attacks as a pretext to cancel the festivities.

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday that an agreement by Zambia's creditors to restructure the African country's crushing debt load has helped clear the way for the release of $1.3 billion in IMF-support funds.

Managing director Kristina Georgieva said she welcomed a statement from the Official Creditor Committee for Zambia, which has met virtually under join French-Chinese leadership with IMF and World Bank staff observing. 

Its support "for Zambia's envisaged IMF-supported programme, together with its commitment to negotiate debt restructuring terms, accordingly, provides the IMF with official financing assurances", Georgieva said. 

She said she strongly endorsed the committee's call "for private creditors and other official bilateral creditors to commit to comparable debt treatments".

The restructuring, the IMF said, should involve the same terms for creditor countries and private lenders — in exchange for Lusaka's commitment to undertake profound economic reform.

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic battered Africa, Zambia became the first country on the continent to default on its foreign debt — estimated at $17.3 billion.

Last December, Zambia reached tentative agreement with IMF staff to provide $1.3 billion in support funds, but only if it took credible steps to reduce its debt load to levels deemed sustainable.

In a statement Saturday, Georgieva said that the IMF Executive Board could now "consider approval of a Fund-supported program for Zambia and unlock much-needed financing from Zambia's development partners".

The IMF chief added: "International partners are coming together to help countries resolve their debt issues, sending a strong signal to other countries looking to restore debt sustainability, achieve sustainable growth and poverty reduction."

Lusaka, for its part, welcomed the official progress.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said in a statement that Zambia was committed to implementing necessary reforms, to being transparent about its debt, and to dealing with its creditors in a fair and equitable way.

Since the election last year of President Hakainde Hichilema, the country has made progress in restoring relations with donors.

AYIA NAPA, Cyprus — Beside sparkling Mediterranean waters at the Cypriot resort town of Ayia Napa, the bars are bouncing with foam dance parties as tourist numbers rebound following two tough years of pandemic.

But one key nationality is effectively missing: Russian visitors, as the once lucrative market has been hit by European Union sanctions imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

"This year, we expected 800,000 Russian tourists," said Haris Loizides, head of the Cyprus Hotel Association. 

The Russian market "was wiped out from one day to the next", said Christos Angelides, head of the Pancyprian Association of Hotel Managers. "Nobody was prepared for this huge change."

The key tourism sector, which had contributed 2.68 billion euros ($2.72 billion) in 2019, 15 per cent of gross domestic product, is still counting the cost of the disastrous years of COVID travel chaos.

In 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one fifth of the tourists were Russians — 782,000 out of 3.9 million — making it the holiday island's second largest market after Britain.

Last year, despite tough COVID travel restrictions, that share rose to more than 25 per cent, with arrivals from Russia totalling nearly 520,000 out of 1.93 million.

Operators had hoped this summer would see Russian numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.

Flight bans, banking sanctions 

Some 18,000 Russians are resident in Cyprus, many in the seaside town of Limassol — dubbed by some "Moscow on the Med".

But, with EU sanctions on Russia continuing and with no let-up in the bloodshed on Ukraine's battlefields, just 17,000 Russian tourists came to Cyprus between January and June. 

"Our hotel is doing well, but others — who had 100 per cent Russian clientele — are not," said Angelides, who is also manager of the Napa Mermaid Hotel.

Nicosia and Moscow have close political and cultural ties, but when Russia sent troops into Ukraine, the Cypriot parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the invasion.

Cyprus, the EU's most easterly member, backed the bloc's actions on Moscow, including a flight ban and sanctions barring some Russian banks from the SWIFT financial system.

The tourism ministry says fewer Russian visitors could mean some $600 million in potential lost earnings.

Overall, tourist arrivals in Cyprus are bouncing back, thanks to strong demand in other key markets following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions.

From January to June, Cyprus recorded 1.2 million visitors, nearly five times the level last year, and the white sand beaches at Ayia Napa are crowded with sunseekers and partygoers.

But that is still 25 per cent down on the same period of 2019, when 1.63 million tourists came to Cyprus.

"We have somewhat limited the damage, but it is impossible to replace this huge number of customers," Angelides added.

'Big gap' 

In the first half of this year, British tourists made up nearly two-fifths of visitors, followed by "Israelis", making up 7 per cent of visitors, then Poland, Germany and Greece.

"There have been many attempts by several sectors to encourage tourists from other markets, such as the German, Polish, Italian and French markets," said Charis Papacharalambous, spokesman of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents.

But it was still "very difficult to fill the big gap" left by Russian tourists, he added, with industry experts fearing the impact may still worsen, since many Russians previously preferred to visit later in the year.

For Loizides, from the island's Hotel Association, the war in Ukraine has also provided another problem.

Surging global costs of fuel sparked by the conflict have driven electricity prices higher. 

With tourists turning air conditioning on full blast to counter the sweltering heat of Cyprus, hotels are struggling with "astronomical bills", Loizides said.

"The EU must remedy this situation and help companies, especially at a time when inflation is raging," he added.

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber on Friday said it will let drivers in the United States see trip details before deciding whether to accept them — a new feature long sought by drivers.

A common lament by drivers at the app-summoned ride platform has been that they have to accept a request before learning where trips will take them, or how profitable they will be.

"Our new trip request screen makes it easier for drivers to decide if a trip is worth their time and effort by providing all the details — including exactly how much they'll earn and where they're going — upfront," chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a blog post.

Revealing details only once a driver had accepted a trip was seen as a way to ensure riders would get picked up promptly, and not be snubbed because they were headed to locations deemed undesirable by drivers.

But Khosrowshahi said drivers have made it clear that they want more flexibility and choice.

Uber said the new feature, called Upfront Fares, was tested in several cities and was a success with drivers while resulting in shorter wait times for passengers.

The ride-sharing firm will also shift from sending drivers a single ride request at a time, to letting them pick from a list of detailed passenger requests in an area.

Uber is engaged in a long-term effort to prove that its business model is socially and economy viable.

The "gig economy" — which uses temporary independent contractors for short-term tasks — has grown rapidly since Uber's launch in 2009 and is promoted as a flexible way for people to earn money without the constraints of a full-time job.

But there has been growing backlash in countries around the world about the conditions and dangers gig workers face.

Uber driver ranks — which shrank during the COVID-19 pandemic — have not rebounded as quickly as demand for rides, and soaring fuel costs have made the gigs less attractive.

The firm in March announced a surcharge on both rides and Uber Eats meal deliveries that would go directly to drivers to help offset high fuel prices.