New York, Aug. 25 -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to attacks on commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure, warning that disruption to key maritime routes was driving up food, energy and fertilizer costs and worsening global hunger.
Guterres said conflicts in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine were disrupting vital shipping routes and "choking arteries of global trade".
"In the Strait of Hormuz alone, transits have come to a near standstill," he told reporters.
Oil prices were about 33% higher since the start of the conflict, while global container rates were 84% higher than a year earlier, Guterres said. Fertilizer and other essential input costs were also rising sharply.
The UN chief said ...