Millions in cheese revenue lost as protest torpedoes Italy's buffalo mozzarella output

ROME -- A truckers' protest in southern Italy has halted the production of the famed buffalo mozzarella, causing an estimated loss of 3 million euros in just 24 hours as the milk cannot reach dairies in the Naples region and the finished cheese cannot reach customers, an official said. The weeklong strike by truck drivers over the high cost of diesel driven up by the Iran war has also blocked deliveries of other basic goods to supermarkets and left gas pumps empty in much of southern Italy. The government approved new tax breaks for truckers Thursday, but it was too early to tell whether they were enough to end the protest. The disruption is particularly damaging to buffalo mozzarella because the production of the protected cheese depends on a tightly timed supply chain. Buffaloes have to be milked regardless of whether dairies are operating, while production rules require that their milk be turned into mozzarella within 60 hours. Buffalo mozzarella is softer, creamier and richer than cow’s-milk mozzarella.

ROME -- A truckers' protest in southern Italy has halted the production of the famed buffalo mozzarella, causing an estimated loss of 3 million euros in just 24 hours as the milk cannot reach dairies in the Naples region and the finished cheese cannot reach customers, an official said. The weeklong strike by truck drivers over the high cost of diesel driven up by the Iran war has also blocked deliveries of other basic goods to supermarkets and left gas pumps empty in much of southern Italy. The government approved new tax breaks for truckers Thursday, but it was too early to tell whether they were enough to end the protest. The disruption is particularly damaging to buffalo mozzarella because the production of the protected cheese depends on a tightly timed supply chain. Buffaloes have to be milked regardless of whether dairies are operating, while production rules require that their milk be turned into mozzarella within 60 hours. Buffalo mozzarella is softer, creamier and richer than cow’s-milk mozzarella.

ROME -- A truckers' protest in southern Italy has halted the production of the famed buffalo mozzarella, causing an estimated loss of 3 million euros in just 24 hours as the milk cannot reach dairies in the Naples region and the finished cheese cannot reach customers, an official said. The weeklong strike by truck drivers over the high cost of diesel driven up by the Iran war has also blocked deliveries of other basic goods to supermarkets and left gas pumps empty in much of southern Italy. The government approved new tax breaks for truckers Thursday, but it was too early to tell whether they were enough to end the protest. The disruption is particularly damaging to buffalo mozzarella because the production of the protected cheese depends on a tightly timed supply chain. Buffaloes have to be milked regardless of whether dairies are operating, while production rules require that their milk be turned into mozzarella within 60 hours. Buffalo mozzarella is softer, creamier and richer than cow’s-milk mozzarella.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited China in his first visit to the country in a year, South Korea’s government said Saturday. Kim’s visit to China is his latest move in an increasingly assertive foreign policy as he seeks to align Pyongyang with Beijing and Moscow in a united front against the United States under what he portrays as a “new Cold War.”Kim appears to have arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong after crossing a newly opened bridge linking the two countries, according to South Korean officials. Experts said the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge this month was a key symbol of strengthening ties between the two countries and reflected their intent to expand trade, as it is expected to accommodate two-way traffic around the clock, including container shipments and heavy cargo trucks. North Korean and Chinese state media did not immediately report on a visit by Kim. Kim has recently sought to strengthen ties with China, the North’s traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after years of prioritizing ties with Russia.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited China in his first visit to the country in a year, South Korea’s government said Saturday. Kim’s visit to China is his latest move in an increasingly assertive foreign policy as he seeks to align Pyongyang with Beijing and Moscow in a united front against the United States under what he portrays as a “new Cold War.”Kim appears to have arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong after crossing a newly opened bridge linking the two countries, according to South Korean officials. Experts said the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge this month was a key symbol of strengthening ties between the two countries and reflected their intent to expand trade, as it is expected to accommodate two-way traffic around the clock, including container shipments and heavy cargo trucks. North Korean and Chinese state media did not immediately report on a visit by Kim. Kim has recently sought to strengthen ties with China, the North’s traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after years of prioritizing ties with Russia.

Still, even if the differences between the two men are subtle, they could be consequential — for Israel and for the rest of the world. Here’s a guide to where they differ. Violence in the West BankGet College TownA weekly newsletter packed with insights about higher ed from Globe journalist Hilary Burns. Enter EmailThe starkest divide between Eisenkot and Netanyahu is on the West Bank. Netanyahu prides himself on having ordered the largest occupation of certain Palestinian areas, such as Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur al-Shams, since the Second Intifada 20 years ago. Eisenkot would likely withdraw some of these forces sooner than Netanyahu. The two men agree on the need to clamp down hard on Palestinian West Bank terrorism. Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, says this includes more than 1,000 attempted attacks each year, and somewhere between 30 and 170 completed attacks. But beyond containment, neither candidate has proposed any diplomatic plan to resolve the conflict. Netanyahu would likely inflame it further. Eisenkot would try to extinguish the major blazes. Ending the violence, however, would require taking on the larger question of borders and sovereignty in the West Bank.