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BBC News with David Harper.
The head of one of the biggest fertilizer manufacturers in the world has said that the interruption to supply and production caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is jeopardizing global food production. The boss of Yara, Svein Tore Holsether, told the BBC the shortage of fertilizer would affect poorer countries first. Here's Simon Jack. Up to a third of the global trade in fertilizer and the raw materials to produce it passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is in effect still closed. The price of fertilizer has soared by 80 percent since the beginning of the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran, which could have a devastating effect on farmers, unable to afford or even obtain supplies in poorer countries. Yara's head, Svein Holsether, said up to about half a million tons of nitrogen fertilizer was not being produced in the world right now because of the situation in the Middle East. A midnight deadline is looming for Donald Trump to secure authorization from Congress to continue the war against Iran. Under the U.S. Constitution, the Trump administration must receive approval from Congress within 60 days of the president's notification of strikes against Iran or cease hostilities. The U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the ceasefire agreement reached with Iran paused the clock on any such obligation. Iran has, however, said that ongoing U.S. blockades of its ports is a breach of the truce. Islamist militants in Mali have called for the country to unite to bring down the military government. It comes after a string of attacks by jihadists and separatists last weekend. Thomas Baker reports. In an online statement, the al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group, JNIM, urged political parties, the armed forces, separatist groups and traditional leaders to unite against the government. It comes amid a tightening blockade around the capital Bamako. On Wednesday, the JNIM warned that nobody would be allowed into the city. Eyewitnesses say road traffic had thinned out and hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the outskirts of the capital. There are doubts about the strength of Mali's military government after the army lost control of several strategic areas. Myanmar's military government says the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest and her sentence reduced to 18 years. State media have shown a picture of the Nobel laureate facing two uniformed men. Our Southeast Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports. Little has been seen and nothing heard from Aung San Suu Kyi since she was arrested on the day the armed forces ousted her elected government more than five years ago. Now an image of her apparently chatting to police officers has been shown on state television, which also announced the second reduction this month in her prison sentence, bringing it down to 18 years. She's currently being held in an undisclosed house in the capital Naypyidaw. Her sudden appearance in state media suggests the military authorities may be preparing for further changes in her status, possibly her partial or complete release. World news from the BBC. Washington has imposed sanctions on Joseph Kabila, the former long-term leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, over his alleged support for the Rwandan-backed rebels who seized much of eastern DRC. From Kinshasa, the BBC's Emery Makumeno reports. The U.S. treasury has frozen all assets of Joseph Kabila in America and banned its citizens from dealing with him or entities he controls. Washington accuses the former president of financing rebel groups, including the M-23, to destabilize his country. Mr. Kabila, sentenced to death in absentia last year for treason, has yet to respond to the sanctions. He has previously denied links to M-23 fighters, but last May, after years of self-imposed exile, he appeared in the eastern city of Goma, which they control. There's been chaos outside a hospital in the central Australian city of Alice Springs, where a man suspected of murdering a five-year-old indigenous girl was being treated. Police had named 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis as a suspect in the case. He was taken to hospital after being attacked by members of the local community. Around 400 people then gathered outside the Alice Springs hospital. Police had to deploy tear gas to disperse them. Venezuela's acting president has hiked the minimum wage for public sector workers by more than 26 percent to $240 a month. Addressing a rally in Caracas, Delcy Rodríguez said it was "the most significant increase in recent years." Venezuelans have repeatedly demonstrated for wage increases in recent weeks due to high inflation and low state incomes. President Trump has joked that he is not keen on wearing a bulletproof vest, despite multiple alleged assassination attempts, as he is worried it may make him look fat. U.S. media reported that the idea was under consideration following the latest attempt on Saturday. A man has been charged with trying to assassinate the president at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. BBC News. |