Wednesday, April 15, 2026

France’s lawmakers pass bill on restitution of artworks looted during colonial era

Copyright AP Photo/Michel Euler, File

By Anushka Roy
Published on 15/04/2026 - EURONEWS

France’s National Assembly has unanimously passed a bill to return cultural property looted from the country’s former colonial empire.

Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly unanimously voted in favour of a bill on Monday that facilitates the return of artworks and artefacts looted from former French colonies. The French Senate had approved the draft legislation in January
Recent requests for the restitution of artefacts have been submitted to France from countries like Algeria, Mali, and Benin.
The bill aims to simplify the return of cultural property taken illegally from France’s former colonies, particularly focusing on items taken between 1815 and 1972 - the year UNESCO’s convention for the protection of cultural heritage came into force.
The long-awaited restitution legislation has been passed nearly a decade after President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to return cultural property taken from African countries.
“African heritage cannot solely exist in private collections and European museums,” the French President said in a November 2017 speech in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. “Within five years I want the conditions to exist for temporary or permanent returns of African heritage to Africa.”
The new bill requires a state to make a request for the return of items and commit to protecting and displaying them to the public. The request will then be assessed and approved by a committee, based on evidence that the items had been acquired illegitimately or through force. Military items, public archives, and shares of archeological digs are excluded.
While the vote on the restitution bill was unanimous, members debated the scope of the bill - particularly the dates it applies to.
Earlier this year, France returned the sacred Djidji Ayôkwé drum to Ivory Coast. The sacred drum was taken by colonial troops in 1916.

What can China’s next generation of robots do?

By Roselyne Min with AP

Published on 15/04/2026 - EURONEWS

At Hong Kong’s InnoEx fair, Chinese firms showcased humanoid robots that box, guide tours, dance on stage and promise emotional support and learning.

Chinese companies are showcasing more than 100 humanoid robots at a technology fair in Hong Kong, demonstrating machines that can box, dance and interact with visitors using synthetic skin and artificial intelligence.

The InnoEx tech fair opened on Sunday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, running until Wednesday as part of the city's Business of Innovation and Technology Week.

Among the exhibitors are four of the world's five best-selling humanoid robot manufacturers in 2025 — AgiBot, EngineAI, UBTech and Unitree — according to technology research group Omdia.

Hangzhou-based robotics firm Unitree drew crowds with its G1 robot, which boxes with visitors wearing gloves and a full outfit.

At the Shenzhen DX Intech Technology stand, visitors reached out to touch the robots' faces, feeling their soft synthetic skin.

The company said some of its robots were already in use in museums and government venues across mainland China, guiding visitors and leading tours.

Novautek presented a more conventional, robot-like design, with a screen-based face.

The company said it envisioned a future in which robots would be programmed with distinct personalities and could provide emotional support and teaching skills.

When asked where it learned its knowledge, one robot replied, "My knowledge comes from a big omniscient brain inside me, like a comprehensive encyclopaedia”.

“I also keep learning and evolving through large model technology to answer various questions," the robot added.

Crowds cheered as Shenzhen-based EngineAI demonstrated its PM01 robot flipping, rolling and dancing on stage.

The company said it has plans to open two factories in China this year to scale up mass production.

EngineAI said that people may one day prefer interacting with robots to humans.

“(The robots will make) the human to believe 'I prefer to talk to the robot, than a salesperson,’” said Robert Chan from the company’s global strategy office.

“A salesperson is biased, the salesperson will convince me to make a decision for his advantage, will hide certain information,'" Chan added.

Heavy investment to compete with US

Chan said Beijing benefited from strengths such as low-cost engineering. He also pointed to a culture of knowledge exchange between companies, in contrast to Europe and the US, where firms tend to guard their technology more closely.

Robotics is becoming part of a wider technological rivalry between China and the United States, with growing national security implications.

Official data show that China had more than 140 humanoid robot manufacturers and over 330 models in 2025.

Accelerating the development of technologies such as humanoid robots is a priority in Beijing’s latest five-year plan, which has pledged to “target the frontiers of science and technology”.

Norwegian effectively cured of HIV after transplant from brother

By AFP

April 13, 2026

The stem cell transplant that can 'cure' HIV is only an option for patients who also have blood cancer - Copyright AFP/File MARCO BERTORELLO

Daniel Lawler

A Norwegian man has been effectively cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from his brother, doctors announced on Monday.

The patient’s brother happened to carry a rare, virus-blocking genetic mutation.

The 63-year-old man, dubbed the “Oslo patient”, is the latest in around 10 people worldwide who have gone into long-term remission from HIV after receiving a transplant to treat unrelated blood cancer.

The high-risk procedure normally requires a donor to have a specific mutation of their CCR5 gene, which blocks HIV from entering the body’s cells.

Only around one percent of people in northern Europe have the necessary mutation.

The Oslo patient, who had been living with HIV since 2006, was diagnosed with a fatal blood cancer called myelodysplastic syndrome in 2017.

His doctors searched for a donor who would help treat both. When they couldn’t find one, they chose the man’s elder brother.

However, on the day of the transplant in 2020, the doctors were stunned to discover that the brother carried the CCR5 mutation.

“We had no idea… That was amazing,” doctor Anders Eivind Myhre of the Oslo University Hospital told AFP.

– ‘Winning the lottery twice’ –

The patient said “it was like winning the lottery twice”, added Myhre, who was also the lead author of a study describing the case in Nature Microbiology.

Two years after the transplant, the patient stopped taking the anti-retroviral drugs which had been reducing the level of HIV in his body.

The researchers found no trace of the virus in samples of the man’s blood, gut and bone marrow.

“For all practical purposes, we are quite certain that he is cured,” Myhre said.

Now the Oslo patient, whose name was not revealed, is “having a great time” and has more energy than he knows what to do with, Myhre said.

The painful and potentially dangerous transplant procedure is for people who have both HIV and deadly blood cancer so is not a feasible option for the millions of people living with the virus across the world.

However, researchers believe that studying these rare cases will reveal more about how HIV works in the hope of finding a cure for all patients.

– ‘No longer a patient’ –

The Oslo patient is the first person to receive a transplant from a family member.

The patient’s immune system had been “completely replaced” by the donor’s, sqaid study co-author Marius Troseid of the University of Oslo.

It was the first time this had been observed in a cured patient’s bone marrow and gut, he told AFP.

Even before the researchers found out the brother had a CCR5 mutation, they had some hope that the Oslo patient’s HIV could be cured.

That is because in 2024 it was revealed that the so-called “next Berlin patient” entered long-term remission despite receiving a transplant that did not have two copies of the mutated gene.

The original Berlin patient, Timothy Ray Brown, was the first person declared cured of HIV back in 2008. Patients in London, New York, Geneva, Duesseldorf and elsewhere followed.

Given the Oslo patient’s robust health, Troseid suggested that his nickname was no longer suitable.

“The Oslo patient is perhaps no longer a patient. At least he doesn’t feel like it,” Troseid said.

German pilots’ union announces further strikes at Lufthansa this week

By Fakhriya M. Suleiman

Updated 15/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The latest round of strike action continues a recent trend of travel disruptions at Germany’s busiest hubs, throwing passenger journeys into uncertainty.

German commercial pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has called on its members at Lufthansa group airlines to continue staging strike action after a two-day demonstration earlier this week.

Set to begin on Thursday 16 April at 12:01 am local time and end on Friday 17 April at 11:59 pm local time, the latest round of action calls for arbitration to resolve the pension dispute.

Also, all Eurowings GmbH flights departing from German airports on 16 April between 12:01 am and 11:59 pm will be impacted, VC announced in its press release, saying that the situation remains “unchanged”.

“There is absolutely no movement on the part of the employers,” said Andreas Pinheiro, President of VC. “Neither Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo have made an offer regarding company pension schemes, nor has Lufthansa CityLine made a viable offer for a new collective bargaining agreement on remuneration, nor has Eurowings made any offer regarding company pension schemes.”

He also said that arbitration would be a means to resolve the dispute with the support of an independent third party and avoid further escalation.

This comes after initial strike action that took place on 12 and 13 April.

The walkout, announced with less than two days' notice, was projected to put at least 80% of flights from Frankfurt and Munich hubs in jeopardy, potentially leaving more than 50,000 travellers in limbo, Air Traveler Club reported.

VC, which represents at least 10,000 pilots across various German airlines, added that its grievance is rooted in Lufthansa's reluctance to settle several wage disputes, including over pensions.

How has Lufthansa responded?

With negotiations collapsing, the Cologne-based carrier now faces the fallout, including replacing scheduled flights with services operated by other airlines within the Lufthansa Group or partner airlines.

In an updated statement, Lufthansa said that passengers impacted by the action would be informed via email on 14 April.

As per the latest rebooking and refund policy, passengers with tickets from Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, Brussels Airlines or Air Dolomiti, issued on or before 13 April, and booked on Lufthansa-operated flights, including Lufthansa CityLine on 13-16 April can rebook for free to another Lufthansa Group flight from before 23 April. There is also the option to request a refund.

Lufthansa will also offer Deutsche Bahn train tickets for passengers on cancelled flights with no alternative options.

“We sincerely regret the disruption caused by the strike announced at short notice by the union Vereinigung Cockpit and thank you for your understanding,” the carrier said.

Weekend awash with disruptions

The upcoming strike action comes on the heels of ten of thousands of passengers across Germany experiencing travel disruptions.

Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation (UFO), a union representing cabin crew professionals in Germany, called on crew members of Lufthansa CityLine GmbH to strike on Friday 10 April.

The day-long strike grounded flights across Frankfurt and Munich, with The Independent reporting approximately 580 Frankfurt flight cancellations, affecting as many as 72,000 travellers.

Like their pilot counterparts, UFO’s grievances also lie in unresolved wage disputes – resorting to industrial action to achieve their demands.

“To this day, management consistently refuses to even enter into negotiations with us regarding our demands for a collectively agreed social plan, to address our demands, or even to submit a negotiable offer for such a plan,” the union said.

Lufthansa pilots strike as cabin crew call further stoppage

By AFP
April 13, 2026

The two strikes are set to disrupt's Lufthansa's operations for most of this week - Copyright AFP Alexandra BEIER

Hundreds of Lufthansa flights were cancelled Monday as pilots kicked off a two-day strike over pay and pensions, with cabin crew announcing they were staging yet another stoppage later this week.

On Monday, half of all long-distance flights and two-thirds of short-haul services were cancelled at Lufthansa, the group’s main airline, on the first day of the two-day industrial action by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union, the company said.

The VC pilots’ union said Monday afternoon that over 700 flights had been cancelled, adding in a statement that it was “ready for discussions at any time” so long as “realistic offers” were on the table.

Meanwhile cabin crew at Lufthansa also said on Monday that they plan to hit the airline with their own further two-day strike on Wednesday and Thursday.

The cabin crew stoppage will affect “all Lufthansa group departures from Frankfurt and Munich airports” for the whole of Wednesday and Thursday, according to the UFO union.

The two airports are the major hubs for the German airline.

Departures from Lufthansa’s Cityline subsidiaries at seven further airports are also part of the cabin crew strike call.

UFO cabin crew also walked out on Friday at both Lufthansa and CityLine in a dispute over working conditions.

The union’s top negotiator, Harry Jaeger, told AFP on Friday that the strike forced the aviation giant to cancel about 90 percent of flights by those two brands.

Lufthansa described Monday’s strike call “distressing”, saying it showed that the cabin crew union’s members are “completely indifferent to the fate of our passengers and the future of Lufthansa”.

But Jaeger said that the strike on Friday has already demonstrated “how determined they are to stand up for their working conditions”.

UFO contends that there has not been enough progress made on issues such as “avoiding overwork” and lengthening redundancy notice periods.

Pilots at Lufthansa have also gone on strike multiple times this year as part of their disputes with the company.

The most recent strike by pilots took place in mid-March, which grounded about half of the airline’s flights.

On February 12 almost 800 Lufthansa flights were cancelled, affecting around 100,000 passengers, when pilots and cabin crew staged a strike in a pensions dispute.

On Saturday, a Lufthansa spokesman had called the demands from the pilots’ union for higher pay and pensions “absurd and unfeasible”.

But the VC union’s president, Andreas Pinheiro, said the airline had “shown no tangible willingness to find a solution during several rounds of negotiations”.

“Although we deliberately refrained from any strike action during the Easter holidays, no serious proposal was made,” he added.

Venezuela, Chevron strike deals to expand oil operations in key region

By AFP
April 13, 2026

Chevron Venezuela Mariano Vela signed the deals next to Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez during a ceremony at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas - Copyright AFP Juan BARRETO

US oil giant Chevron and the government of Venezuela signed two deals Monday that will expand oil production in the country, as the country seeks to boost private investment in the sector.

A signing ceremony took place at Miraflores Palace, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez was joined by Chevron Venezuela president Mariano Vela and a number of US dignitaries, including Charge D’affaires Laura Farnsworth Dogu and Assistant Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit.

The deals see Chevron increasing its stake in a joint venture it has with the Venezuelan state oil company, known as PDVSA, that extracts oil from the Orinoco Oil Belt — one of the world’s largest oil deposits, according to the US Geological Survey.

In return, Chevron will hand over some rights to offshore gas extraction and reduce a stake in other ventures.

Since the stunning capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January, the Trump administration has worked closely with Rodriguez to drum up foreign investment in the country’s petroleum sector.

The push has been met with a mixed reaction, as some companies have felt skeptical about the heavy investment needed in infrastructure.

Rodriguez shepherded a reform of the country’s petroleum regulations in late January, unwinding decades of state control over the oil sector.

In return, the United States eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry, expanding the ability of US companies to operate in the country.

Australia to spend billions on drones as warfare changes

By AFP
April 13, 2026

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems - Copyright AFP/File Tertius Pickard

Australia will boost spending on drones by up to Au$5 billion ($3.6 billion) in response to shifts in warfare seen in the Middle East, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday.

Australia’s vast coastline and small population have spurred a focus on developing large autonomous submarines and fighter jets, dubbed the Ghost Shark and Ghost Bat.

The use of cheaper drones mass produced by Iran in the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts has prompted the decision to also boost spending on smaller drones and counter-drone systems, Marles said in an ABC radio interview.

“We look at what’s happening in the Middle East right now — you need counter-drone technology as well,” he said.

Australia will spend Au$12 billion to Au$15 billion over the next decade on autonomous capabilities, Marles said ahead of an update to the national defence strategy to be released Thursday.

“Clearly, autonomous systems now are really central to how contest happens, how war happens,” he said.

Australia needed the full spectrum of drone capabilities for its defence because of its geography, Marles said.

“What you get at the smaller end is mass — you know, lots of units — and that’s what we are seeing play out in Ukraine,” he added.

Wary of China’s navy build-up, US ally Australia has reshaped its defence force in recent years to focus on its missile strike capability and deterring an adversary from its northern approaches.

Its AUKUS defence partnership with the United States and Britain aims to transfer nuclear-powered submarine technology to Australia next decade.

Germany said last month it is considering Boeing’s Australian-developed Ghost Bat, designed to fly alongside a fighter jet and return to base, as it modernises its air force.

Maradona’s birthplace repurposed as soup kitchen for Argentina’s hungry

By AFP

April 13, 2026

La cocinera María Torres, en el comedor social en el patio de la casa natal del fallecido futbolista Diego Maradona en Villa Fiorito, en la provincia de Buenos Aires, en Argentina, el 9 de abril de 2026 - Copyright AFP/File Tertius Pickard

Diego Maradona would be happy, his fans say.

The childhood home of the late Argentine football legend has been transformed into a soup kitchen for people squeezed by President Javier Milei’s austerity policies.

The needy can also ask for clothing at 523 Amazor street in the Buenos Aires suburb of Fiorito, where the player dubbed Argentina’s “Golden Boy” grew up in grinding poverty.

In this neighborhood of around 50,000 people living in modest brick homes, dozens of murals depict key moments in the career of the illustrious number 10, who died in 2020 at the age of 60.

On Tuesday, a new trial for criminal negligence will begin of the seven-strong medical team that was caring for Maradona in his final days, as he was recovering from brain surgery.

In Fiorito, neighbors come and go to “Diego’s house,” as they call it, lugging containers which volunteers fill with chicken stew or other meals cooked in giant cauldrons in the yard.

Cumbia music — Maradona’s favorite genre — blares from speakers.

If he were alive “Diego would say there is a lot of hunger and we have to help, because the need is so great,” Diego Gavilan, one of the kitchen’s beneficiaries, told AFP.

– ‘Can’t make ends meet’ –

Gavilan collects cardboard and scrap metal for a living but it no longer puts food on the table.

He started coming to the soup kitchen after Milei was elected in December 2023 and embarked on a radical free-market agenda of deregulation and steep cuts to public spending.

“You can’t make ends meet,” Gavilan said.

Although statistics show a decrease in poverty under Milei, mainly due to a sharp drop in inflation, family finances are in crisis, according to Central Bank reports.

A surge in imports and a collapse in consumption have resulted in the closure of over 20,000 businesses, according to official reports.

Gavilan said he was glad to accept help from Maradona’s old home.

“He suffered so much hunger here as a child. For the people of the neighborhood to receive a plate of food is special,” he said.

– Full stomachs –

There are no tables or chairs for diners at this establishment.

The food prepared by volunteers over open fires in the yard is handed out in bags to people queueing at the door.

Maradona often spoke of his humble beginnings in a community that lacked running water and paved streets.

Sixty-six years after his birth, hardship is etched in the faces of those queueing for food.

“People are going hungry,” Maria Torres, one of the center’s cooks, told AFP, adding she was convinced Maradona would be very happy at the sight of his old home being used for a charitable cause.

Father Leonardo Torres is one of the driving forces behind the soup kitchen.

He recalls Maradona recounting how his mother, Dalma “Tota” Franco, would go without food so he could eat his fill.

“Diego said that his mother would pretend her stomach hurt so he could eat,” he said.

“We want many ‘Totas’ and many ‘Diegos’ to leave here with a full stomach,” he added.

Founder of China’s Evergrande pleads guilty to fraud

By AFP
April 14, 2026

This building in China bears the logo of Evergrande, whose founder has pleaded guilty to fraud - Copyright CN-STR/AFP -

The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said on Tuesday, the latest blow for what was once the country’s leading developer.

Evergrande’s rise was propelled by decades of rapid urbanisation and rising living standards, but in 2020, its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation.

The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors.

Founder Xu Jiayin, known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was reportedly held by police in 2023, with Evergrande saying he had been subjected to measures “due to suspicion of illegal crimes”.

A public hearing was held Monday and Tuesday on a case against Xu for “illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally issuing loans, illegally using funds, fraudulently issuing securities, disclosing important information in violation of regulations, embezzlement and (corporate) bribery”, a court statement said.

“Xu Jiayin pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court,” the statement from the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in southern Guangdong province said, without elaborating further.

Evergrande Group and its real estate arm also stood trial this week.

Evergrande is accused of a list of crimes including fraud, bribery and illegally issuing loans. Its real estate arm faces a charge of fraudulently issuing securities.

The court said it would announce a verdict at a later date.

– Giant’s fall –

Listed in Hong Kong in 2009, Evergrande surged to a peak market value of more than $50 billion under the stewardship of founder Xu.

But fortunes reversed in 2020 under the new borrowing regulations from Beijing.

Subsequent years saw a drawn-out struggle across the industry to complete construction projects as shares plunged and cash flows choked.

A Hong Kong court issued a winding-up order in January 2024, ruling that the company had failed to come up with a suitable debt repayment plan.

Last August, it delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Xu, 67, was once one of China’s richest billionaires and a member of China’s top political advisory body.

His wealth and status have since plummeted, as Beijing has moved to crack down on corruption in the financial sector.

Evergrande’s saga — and similar issues faced by other property giants including Country Garden and Vanke — have been closely followed by observers assessing the health of the world’s second-largest economy.

The crisis has also dampened consumer sentiment at a time when Chinese officials are pushing for a new growth model driven more by domestic spending rather than investment.

New home prices in China have been contracting for nearly three years.

Amazon says to buy Globalstar to expand satellite network

By AFP
April 14, 2026

The tie-up may help Amazon compete with Elon Musk's Starlink service - Copyright AFP/File Patrick T. Fallon

Amazon said Tuesday that it had signed a deal to buy the US telecoms satellite group Globalstar to expand its own space-based internet network and compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Amazon said it would make a cash-and-stock offer worth $90 to shareholders in Globalstar, which has a market value of around $9 billion, according to a Financial Times report this month flagging the deal.

The tech and e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos is building its Amazon Leo network offering satellite-based internet connectivity to people practically anywhere on the planet.

“There are billions of customers out there living, traveling, and operating in places beyond the reach of existing networks, and we started Amazon Leo to help bridge that divide,” Panos Panay, Amazon’s senior vice president for devices and services, said in a statement.

Around 58 percent of Globalstar’s shareholders have already accepted the deal, expected to close in 2027.

As part of the deal, Apple, which owns a 20 percent stake in Globalstar, will start using Leo for satellite services with iPhones and Apple Watches, such as its Emergency SOS contact service.

Leo, with around 200 satellites in orbit, is aiming to challenge Musk’s SpaceX, which operates the Starlink service of 10,000 satellites.

The Globalstar deal comes as market speculation is rife that Musk is preparing an initial public offering of SpaceX shares that could raise a whopping $75 billion, which would be the largest IPO ever.

‘Blindsided’: US farmers strained as fertilizer costs surge on war

By AFP
April 14, 2026

Andy Corriher examines his crops during spring planting season

- Copyright AFP Grant Baldwin

Beiyi SEOW

On Andy Corriher’s farm in North Carolina, planting and preparations are underway for his corn and soybean crops — but fertilizer costs have surged on war in the Middle East, and orders he placed weeks ago have yet to arrive.

The 47-year-old is among US farmers facing a double whammy of soaring fertilizer and diesel prices after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Tehran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for such shipments.

“This time of year is when the majority of fertilizer is put out in this country,” Corriher told AFP.

“We got hit at the worst possible time, because we’re trying to buy fertilizer when it skyrockets and when the supply also gets cut.”

The cost hikes strike at a major support base for President Donald Trump, who won 78 percent of the 2024 vote in farming-dependent counties, said news service Investigate Midwest.

Trump blamed “price gouging from the fertilizer monopoly” on Saturday, vowing: “American Farmers, we have your back!”

But spring planting is already ongoing, with Corriher loading bags of dry fertilizer onto a tractor, hauling them to his fields.

“I’ve ordered several loads of liquid nitrogen a few weeks ago, and they’re still saying they’re not sure when it’ll be delivered,” Corriher said.

Since the war, Corriher estimates that the nitrogen fertilizer he uses rose by at least 40 percent in price.

The cost of urea — a common nitrogen-based fertilizer — had jumped by around 50 percent at the port of New Orleans.

Corriher has reduced usage by a third, a decision he worries might hurt his yields.

– ‘Gut shot’ –

Russell Hedrick, who farms up to 1,000 acres including corn and soybeans around Hickory, North Carolina, said around 75 percent of his fertilizer purchases were made after prices rocketed.

Like himself, many US farmers lack storage to stock up far ahead of planting, the 40-year-old told AFP, after blending fertilizers and nutrients to be sprayed on his fields.

He has cut fertilizer use to the “bare minimum,” with an option to add more later.

Even before the war, rising costs meant “farmers have essentially become like Breaking Bad chemists with fertilizer, to get the most out of it,” he said.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said 80 percent of American farmers had bought fertilizer for the spring planting season before the conflict. But that’s cold comfort to those who lacked funds and capacity to do so.

Those remarks were “a gut shot,” said Marshville-based farmer Derrick Austin.

Austin, 55, called his supplier upon learning of the strait’s blockage, knowing that costs would jump.

“Thankfully, he let me buy three loads of nitrogen at the old price per ton so I could at least fertilize my wheat crop,” he said. “It was devastating.”

Fertilizer supply has diminished before, like in 2021 when China restricted phosphate exports to prioritize domestic needs.

Usually, farmers can see that coming, Hedrick said.

“This year, we just kind of got blindsided.”

– ‘Collateral damage’ –

Corriher said he has been a supporter of Trump, but added of the war: “It didn’t seem like we had really thought out all the consequences to the American people.”

“I feel like these things were kind of overlooked as part of collateral damage,” he said.

The surge in gas and diesel prices have hit farmers and other American households: “Everybody seems to be suffering.”

Asked if the war has changed perceptions of Trump, Austin said: “I’m starting to question some of his reasoning.”

But to him, the Trump administration “still beats some of the alternatives.”

Hedrick said he has voted for Trump thrice: “He’s human like the rest of us. I think he makes good calls, I think he makes mistakes.”

He said if the conflict’s resolution brings “long-term peace” and a reopened Strait of Hormuz, “that’s all I can hope for.”

The US agriculture economy has “been in a recession for the last couple of years,” said Iowa State University professor Chad Hart.

Net farm income has declined while business costs remain high.

Although margins are squeezed this year, the hit may be less than anticipated as many farmers managed to apply fertilizer last fall or earlier this spring.

But the 2027 crop would be “a big concern” if fighting persists, Hart said.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment