From Pakistan to Peru, soaring food and fuel prices are tipping countries over the edge
CNN
When people took to the streets in Egypt in 2011, protesters chanted about freedom and social justice, but also bread. The cost of pantry staples had jumped due to the skyrocketing price of goods like wheat, stoking fury with President Hosni Mubarak.
Now, more than a decade after the Arab Spring, global food prices are soaring again. They had already reached their highest level on record earlier this year as the pandemic, poor weather and the climate crisis upended agriculture and threatened food security for millions of people. Then came Russia's war in Ukraine, making the situation much worse — while also triggering a spike in the cost of the other daily essential, fuel.
The combination could generate a wave of political instability, as people who were already frustrated with government leaders are pushed over the edge by rising costs.
Leaders representing the Group of Seven nations are set to announce as soon as Thursday an agreement to loan money to Ukraine backed by the profits from frozen Russian investments, according to sources familiar with the discussions, providing a new source of revenue to a war-torn nation facing a steep and costly road to recovery.
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The US and Ukraine are expected to sign a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy on Thursday, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN, in a deal that lays out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv but that could also be undone by future US administrations.