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Peppa Pig Flashbacks, Cost of Living, 'War' With US: Former UK PM Brown Takes Dig at BoJo_我的网站

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A | A retired Indian Air Marshall has told Sputnik that it is already “evident” that the developing countries don’t support anti-Russia sentiments of the G7 club, further arguing that most of the ‘Global South’ even holds the US and its allies “responsible” for precipitating the Ukraine crisis as well as its knock-on effects which led to global energy instability.,“The rest of the world is smarter in understanding than the western countries on how the [Ukraine conflict] emerged and who are the causal factors for this particular problem,” said Air Marshal (retired) Muthumanikam Matheswaran, who heads the Indian think-tank Peninsula Foundation.,Matheswaran has also served in the past as deputy chief of India’s Integrated Defense Staff (IDS).,“Around two-thirds of the world is not cooperating with the western countries’ push to support Ukraine or to condemn Russia. I think that they see that the issue is far more complex,” the former fighter pilot added.,Russia has said that NATO’s eastward expansion into Europe around Russian borders was the major reason for the launch of the special military operation in Ukraine. China has backed Moscow in holding NATO responsible for the Ukraine crisis.,India has kept its counsel over its Western partners, though New Delhi's permanent representative to the UN has appealed for diplomacy and dialogue in the crisis.,Meanwhile, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations have decried unilateral sanctions against Russia. BRICS nations make up 41 percent of the world's population, 24 percent of international GDP, and accounts for 16 percent of global trade.,“[The developing nations] actually hold the West responsible for the present crisis. Therefore, I don’t think that the ‘Global South’ is with them at all,” Matheswaran remarked.,The observations came a day after the G7 Summit in Germany concluded. A joint communique issued after the meeting called for “phasing out or banning the import of Russian coal and oil” from the global energy chain, even despite its recognition that the “burden” of rocketing energy prices has resulted in “market instability” and aggravated “inequalities nationally and internationally”.,Oil Prices Up Another 2% on Signs UAE, Saudi Arabia Have Maxed Out ProductionYesterday, 00:55 GMT,Crude oil prices have been at their highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis in the wake of the US and European Union (EU)-led attempts to phase out Russian crude supplies from the international market in retaliation for Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine.,The G7 leaders also said in their joint statement that the western allies would “reduce reliance on civil nuclear and related goods from Russia”.,Food prices have soared around the world after West-led efforts to ban Russian exports in March. The UN-backed World Food Programme (WFP) warned last week that “millions of people across the world are at risk of being driven into starvation".,G7 Could Worsen Global Energy and Food Shortages,Matheswaran reckoned that additional sanctions against Russia, as mooted in the G7 statement, could exacerbate the present crisis, which has led to high levels of inflation throughout developed and developing countries.,“Russia is not a small country that can be downsized with sanctions. It is a nuclear power and the world’s largest country with an enormous number of resources. Much of Europe depends on Russian oil and gas as well as its resources,” the Indian expert said.,“So, western powers need to find different solutions if they want to resolve their conflict with Russia. They must not coerce or push the rest of the world for their own, narrow objectives,” argued Matheswaran.,“It will cause more issues with food security, economic downturn,” he added.,Further, the member of the think-tank lauded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not backing down on New Delhi’s decision to buy discounted Russian crude against the backdrop of a spike in global prices.,Russian Energy Supplies to India Have Increased 'Dozens of Times', Russian Ambassador Says27 June, 15:02 GMT,Modi told his G7 counterparts that India would “continue” to pursue its “energy security”, amid sustained pressure from Washington and Brussels on New Delhi to reduce its reliance on Russian oil.,G7 is ‘Irrelevant’, BRICS and G20 need to Step Up To Their Role,Matheswaran said that the G7 no longer represented the realities of the contemporary world order and groupings such as the G20 and BRICS were better equipped to deal with the problems facing the global community.,Indonesia, at present chairing the G20, has rejected calls by western governments to exclude Moscow from this year's G20 Summit in Jakarta.,“The G7 is irrelevant in today’s global structure. What should matter is groupings such as the G20, which reflects the larger global community and rationalizes economic processes across the world,” he said.,New Development Bank’s Success in West Depends on BRICS Risk-Taking Ability on Governance: Economist25 June, 11:18 GMT,“The G7 is pretty much a collection of countries which are erstwhile imperial powers and they continue to, albeit in a different manner, practice that same process,” he said.,“They dominate the global economic system and they want everyone else to tailor their policies and structures to bring in benefits to the G7,” the Indian academic added.,Matheswaran said that BRICS, which also held an online leaders’ summit days before the G7 meeting, needs to step up to its role in global economic, political and security decision-making.,He noted that other developing countries such as Argentina, which has also applied for BRICS’ membership, must also be embraced.,Matheswaran also reckoned that the “privileged access” of G7 democracies to financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank needed to be “downsized and rationalized”.。 Hopping on the criticism train, former prime minister Gordon Brown bombarded the government of the incumbent PM with criticism.,Not only did he touch upon the acute economic and social issues, but also offered an unpleasant Peppa Pig flashback.,'War' With America?,Speaking with Sky News's Beth Rigby Interviews, Brown took issue with Johnson's government, particularly focusing on the approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol.,"We're at war with America over Ireland because America will not sign a trade treaty with Britain as long as we cannot sort out the issues related to Ireland," Brown said.,His remarks come in the wake of London's plans to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol, unilaterally introducing amendments to the deal that helped avoid a hard border with Northern Ireland. The UK's intention to change the agreement have been slammed by US President Joe Biden, with several prominent UK figures, including former PM Theresa May, also weighing in on the criticism.,The Northern Ireland Protocol plans also did not help with reviving the stalled free trade agreement with the United States - one of Britain's most anticipated aspirations after leaving the European Union.,The legislation looking to amend the Northern Ireland Protocol has already passed its first Commons hurdle.,According to Brown, the move to change the protocol will further affect trade relations with the US, as well as with the European Union.,"And that's very much part of our future because if we cannot export to the leading markets in the world, and cannot do so successfully with these new industries and new technologies, then the cost-of-living crisis will be with us for years and not just temporarily," Brown continued.,Cost of Living Crisis,With the lack of a trade deal fueling the economic hardships faced by the country, Johnson's government does not "seem to have a clue" on how to tackle the cost of living, Brown claimed.,"You cannot go through a winter when people are being asked to take the biggest cut in their standards of living in 50 years and not ask people to understand what you're trying to do, and give them a plan for what do we do.",The former PM noted that lack of government action on important issues may undermined Britain's reputation in the world.,"I think Britain has got to be very careful that we have got respect in the world because we are a country that has valued the rule of law, democracy, freedom, liberty," he said. "If we appear to be riding roughshod over treaties that we've agreed to sign, over laws we've asked other countries to sign up to, over rules that historically all British governments have accepted… then it is difficult to persuade other countries to listen to the advice that we're giving.",Going further into the economic crisis faced by the UK, Brown took a dig at the Bank of England, chastising it over lack of action to help the country "get back to stable prices", noting that "stable prices may be 2% or 3% or 4%.","But to get there they've got show us a pathway to it - and unless there's a pathway then people will be excused for thinking inflation could be 11% this year, 12% next year or 13% the year after - and the Bank of England has not done that.",In wake of harsh anti-Russian sanctions imposed against Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine, Britain's annual inflation hit 9.1%. Naturally, it fueled the already rising cost of living, but Johnson still pledged to continue with the sanctions and military aid to Ukraine.,A Blast From the Past,Brown also noted that the incumbent PM had "talked about Peppa Pig instead of talking about an industrial strategy," referencing the infamous CBI speech last November, in which Johnson offered his accolades for Hampshire’s Peppa Pig World. He was widely mocked after the speech over being "unprofessional" and lacking "seriousness".,With Johnson currently facing mounting calls to resign amid his alleged lies about the "partygate" scandal and Tories' by-election loss, Brown said he would "caution Boris Johnson against going further, if you like, in ignoring the rule of law."。