bolivian farmers and government officials are fighting a locust plague that's threatening to destroy as agricultural areas were starting to recover from the country's worst drought in a quarter of a century. sophia tran—thomson has this report. after 25 years of drought, water rationing, conflicts over use and slashed harvests, a plague of locusts is the last thing bolivian farmers need. recent rains relieved the central bolivian city of santa cruz from drought, but injanuary reports of locusts in the eastern grains belt brought new fears. 500 producers and 1,000 hectares of crops have been affected by the swarming insects. i% of santa cruz‘s grain farms. translation: the authorities, farmers, businesses and fumigation crews are working together to confront this unfortunate situation in santa cruz. it is devastating a lot of cropland, especially small farms, and it is important that we react quickly to early warnings. there is a risk that if the plague spreads further the country's food supply could be in danger. the authorities plan to fumigate 17,000 hectares of land to stop the pl

recent rains relieved the central bolivian city of santa cruz from drought, but in january bolivian cityf locust in the eastern grains belt brought new fears. 500 producers and 1000 hectares of crops have been affected by the swarming insects. 1% of sa nta affected by the swarming insects. 1% of santa cruz‘s rain farms. translation: the authorities, farmers, diseases and fumigation crews a re farmers, diseases and fumigation crews are working hard to confront this unfortunate situation in santa cruz. it is devastating a lot of cropland, especially small farms, and it is important we react quickly to early warnings. there is a risk that if the plague spreads further the food supply could be in danger. the authorities plan to fumigate 17,000 hectares of land to stop a plague and bolivia's resident says argentinian experts are being brought into assist. translation: it will be difficult to eradicate them, but we have to stop this flying locusts. they are doing a lot of damage to agricultural production. the play raises the issue of farming regulations. the libyan producers have lobbied for

bolivian farmers and government officials are fighting a locust plague that's threatening to destroyf the country's harvests. it comesjust as part of the country's harvests. it comes just as agricultural areas we re comes just as agricultural areas were starting to recover from the country's worst drought in a quarter ofa country's worst drought in a quarter of a century. after 25 years of drought, water rationing, conflicts over aquifer use and slashed harvests, a plague of locusts is the last thing bolivian farmers need. recent rains relieved the effects of drought but new fears have emerged. 500,000 producers and crops have been affected by the swarm of crusts, 1% of grain farmers. translation: the authorities, farmers, businesses and fumigation crews with working to confront this u nfortu nate crews with working to confront this unfortunate situation in santa cruz. it is devastating a lot of crop land especially small farms. it is important to act quickly. there is a risk the country's food supply could be in danger. authorities plan to fumigate 17,000 be in danger. authorities p

the anger surrounds a draft plantation bill by the bolivian government which proposes to cap the legalon to 20,000 hectares. the farmers want to be of two producers much as local demand warrants. coca is the raw material of cocaine, but bolivia allows cultivation of the leaf for legal use in andean religious ceremonies and asa use in andean religious ceremonies and as a remedy for our tissue sickness. the growers, which help in the region north of the capital, known as los yungas, believe that the bill davis farmers from the chapare region associated with president morales. chase it hurts have us on the street. it those in the street see this as a fight for their livelihoods. orthodox russians are calling for a film on the love life of the last tsar to be banned, claiming it's blasphemous. the film focuses on an affair between nicholas ii and a ballerina before he took to the throne. sarah rainsford reports. this is matilda, her voice, at least. in moscow studio, a film telling the love story of a ballerina her russian prince is in the final stages of production. that prince is nichola

my concerns are in the bolivian highlands. in january, there was a lot of rain but now there is no rain. if it does not rain this month and the next month of march, we are going to have many problems with the issue of water. amy: russia's foreign ministry says russia will not relinquish control of crimea, despite calls from the white house that russia return the territory to ukraine. on wednesday, a russian spokesperson said -- "we don't give back our own territory." russia illegally annexed crimea in 2014, prompting the us and -- prompting the u.s. and the european union to impose sanctions. russia's announcement comes as the u.s. is embroiled in the political scandal of former national security adviser michael flynn's resignation after revelations he discussed separate sanctions imposed against russia with the russian ambassador in late and then lied december about the phone call. human rights watch says the syrian government repeatedly and systematically deployed the chemical weapon chlorine gas against residents in aleppo

the bolivian government has declared a state of emergency in a vast agricultural area affected by a plagues. the swarm first appeared over a week ago near the city of santa cruz, where most of bolivia's food and meat is produced. president evo morales has announced a plan that includes $700,000 in funds for fumigation. thousands of people in the philippines have spent another night out on the streets and in temporary shelter after a fire ripped through a shanty town in manila on tuesday. the fire service is being criticised for not responding fast enough. catharina moh reports. in a single night, 15,000 people became homeless. this is what is left of perola compound, a shanty town in the filipino capital, manila. as residents pick through the charred remains of their belongings, investigators continue examining what caused the blaze, which lasted eight hours. initial reports point to faulty wiring or an unattended gas stove. the residents also blamed the fire service. translation: there was an explosion and the fire started. when the firefighters arrived, they didn't enter the compound, th

bolivian president trump's address to join congress tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern.he president expected to shed some light on his perch to speeding up economic growth. i spoke with stephen mnuchin over the weekend and here's what he told me to expect. >> the most important issue is economic growth and the president is very, very okay if i mess getting back to sustained economic growth. the american economy has been too slow for too long and we will start tax reform. we are focused on regulatory relief and just a whole lot of changes to make the middle-class tax cut and to make business competitive. trade your joining us, jpmorgan private bank, stephen races with us. practice at 13% since election day. what you do now? >> we continue to see opportunity in the u.s. earnings so far have been very good up about 7.5% in the fourth-quarter year-over-year. but the vast growth in the last two years. to rethink the market rally is justified? you need to be a bit more select it looking at places like small cap, technology, telecom, and to assess the opportunity. maria: how th