Pakistan banned a hard-line Islamist party on Thursday, more than a week after heated clashes with police that left at least five people dead.

The sanctions sharply escalate tensions with the leftist leader of a country that has traditionally been one of the closest U.S. allies in South America.

In Brazil's coffee-producing areas, more than 42,000 square miles of forest have disappeared over about two decades, says Coffee Watch. Deforestation leads to drought, which harms crop yields.