News Wrap: Ukraine and Russia hold first direct talks in months

Judy Woodruff:

In the day's other news: President Biden is in Israel tonight, kicking off his first Middle East tour as president.

As he arrived, he declared the U.S. and Israel have — quote — "a bone-deep bond." He was briefed on missile defenses, and he laid a wreath at the nation's Holocaust Memorial. He heads to Saudi Arabia later this week. We will take a closer look after the news summary.

Ukraine and Russia today held their first direct talks in months, this time on resuming grain shipments through the Black Sea. A Russian blockade has raised the risk of starvation in countries that are dependent on the green. Officials from the two sides met in Istanbul, Turkey, today with U.N. representatives.

Later, the U.N. secretary-general called it an important step.

Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General:

We are hoping that we will be able to reconvene very soon, I'm sure next week, and, hopefully, we will be able to have a final agreement. But, as I said, we still need a lot of goodwill and commitment by all parties.

Judy Woodruff:

Meanwhile, Russian forces entered the Ukrainian city of Siversk in their campaign to capture much of Eastern Ukraine.

Political turmoil in Sri Lanka grew even worse today. The president of the island nation in the Indian Ocean fled the country and tried to make his prime minister the acting president. With that, thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister's office. They braved tear gas fired by police, and they demanded change to rebuild a collapsed economy.

Kumara Samarasinghe, Unemployed Building Contractor (through translator):

This is not a struggle that spreads hate. This is a peaceful struggle. The whole world must see this as a peaceful protest, because they're fighting for the future of children. Children have nothing to eat. There's no fuel in the country.

Judy Woodruff:

Despite the chaos, the prime minister insisted he will not step down until a new government is named. It's not clear when that will happen.

Protests over fuel shortages in Haiti shut down roads in Port-au-Prince today. A war between rival gangs has forced a key fuel terminal to close. And most gas stations have stopped working too. At least 50 people have died in the violence. And thousands more have no food or water.

Back in this country, the FDA gave emergency authorization to the Novavax vaccine for COVID-19. If the CDC also agrees, the two-dose series will be available to anyone over the age of 18. This is the fourth vaccine that the FDA has approved for adults in the U.S.

And in this country, Wall Street took an early tumble on the inflation news, but ended with more modest losses. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up 208 points to close at 30772. The Nasdaq fell 17 points. The S&P 500 also slipped 17.