Australia is counting down to its next federal election on May 21. The environmental crisis is high on voters' minds and smaller parties and independents are gaining momentum by riding a wave of disillusionment over the conservative coalition's lack of climate action. With a hung parliament looking likely, these minor players could force the traditional parties to do more to tackle global warming. Climate change is an increasingly hot-button issue since the country's devastating bushfires of 2019-20. Our correspondents Richelle Harrison Plesse and Gregory Plesse report.
Meanwhile, the price of wheat has hit record highs globally in the wake of the war in Ukraine and India's recent decision to ban exports. The country was supposed to fill the gap in supply caused by the disruptions in Eastern Europe, but it has food security concerns of its own due to rising global prices as well as a heatwave that has damaged crops and reduced output.
Finally, South Korean K-pop juggernauts BTS are at the centre of a national debate over military service. All able-bodied males in the country must enlist in the armed forces for two years before they turn 30, an age the oldest member of BTS will reach in December. The country's culture minister wants to exempt the band from service and find another way for the superstars to serve their country. But some South Koreans are angry at the proposal.
