Traders, consumers lament food inflation

At the beginning of December, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, said he would make sure that fuel prices go down. Just the opposite has happened, and now unrest in the South American country is growing.

United Nations agencies are warning that price hikes sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine will worsen a food crisis in Africa, where tens of millions of people have already been plunged into extreme poverty by the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, climate shocks and economic turmoil.

Sri Lankans told DW how they're struggling with shortages of food, fuel and medicine as the nation faces one of its worst economic crises in decades.

Inflation is at its highest level in decades in many parts of the world. In the US, consumer prices were 8.3 percent higher in April than a year earlier. In the eurozone, they rose by around 7.5 percent. Energy prices have been driving the surge, with Russia's war in Ukraine further fuelling the trend. But higher inflation tends to have a bigger impact on low-income households. Xavier Jaravel from the London School of Economics discusses this and more with FRANCE 24's Kate Moody.

Argentina is struggling to deal with spiraling food inflation, driven by soaring commodity prices worldwide, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Millions in Argentina are relying on food aid.

Top G7 diplomats meeting in Germany have warned the war in Ukraine is stoking a crisis that threatens the world's poorest. They also pledged to continue their military assistance to Ukraine for "as long as necessary."

The war in Ukraine is having a drastic impact on Africa. Prices for wheat, gas and gasoline are at record highs. Crisis regions could see things get worse than they already are.

British inflation surged last month to its highest annual rate since 1982, piling pressure on finance minister Rishi Sunak to step up his help for households facing a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Japan's GDP fell at an annualised rate of 1 percent in the first three months of this year as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus hampered consumer spending. Rising commodity prices also weighed on businesses in the world's third-largest economy. Plus, as unemployment remains stable in France at 7.3 percent, a steelworks factory in the northern city of Dunkirk is offering a cash bonus to employees to encourage them to recruit family members.

The world is facing its worst food crisis in history. Millions of tonnes of wheat are stuck in Ukraine, worsening an already precarious situation for many countries that depend on exports from the region. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tells FRANCE 24 Business Editor Kate Moody that only "very strong international mobilisation" will save the lives of millions of people. Also in our update from Davos: EU member states move towards an embargo on Russian oil, but with no consensus on the timeline.

Rising food and energy prices, shortages and uncertainty. Russia's war in Ukraine and its naval blockade of Ukrainian grain exports is creating a severe international crisis. DW's Thomas Sparrow explains what the West is doing to stop it.