Conflict increases food prices in far-flung locations, study finds

Fighting along key transport routes pushes up food prices in areas far from the conflict itself, according to a new study. Researchers examined the price of maize and other staples during the war in Somalia between government forces and Al-Shabaab, an Islamist terrorist group. They found that although the fighting was concentrated in the southwest of the country, the impact of price rises was felt 900 kilometers (560 miles) away—equivalent to the length of the U.K.