Tag Archives: caribbean

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WORLD VIEW: Anti-Vax Greeks to be Fined, World Ablaze Photos, US School Shooting, More

Dec 02, 2021

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The Associated Press

The Rundown

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PARIS (AP) — Greeks who are over age 60 and refuse coronavirus vaccinations will be hit with monthly fines of more than one-quarter of their pensions — a get-tough policy that could prove risky for the country’s politicians….Read More

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The Marine Corps demolition specialist was worried — about America, and about the civil war he feared would follow the presidential election. And so, block by block, he stole 13 pounds (6 kilograms) of C4 plastic explosives f…Read More

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“Some say the world will end in fire,” wrote the poet Robert Frost — and for much of 2021, Associated Press photographers captured scenes of a world ablaze, amid rumblings of ruin. In New Delhi, a man sprints amid the funera…Read More

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OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The parents of a teenager accused of killing four students at a Michigan school were summoned to discuss his behavior just a few hours before the violence, a sheriff said. …Read More

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — In northern Denmark, an IKEA showroom turned into a vast bedroom. Six customers and about two dozen employees were stranded by a snowstorm and spent the night in the store, sleeping in the beds that…Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the biggest challenge to abortion rights in decades, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Wednesday signaled they would allow states to ban ab…Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense attorneys sought Wednesday to undermine a key accuser’s allegation that the British socialite helped financier Jeffrey Epstein …Read More

Fossils found in Chile are from a strange-looking dog-sized dinosaur species that had a unique slashing tail weapon, scientists reported Wednesday. Some dinosaurs had spik…Read More

LAS MANCHAS, Canary Islands (AP) — They come with eagle-eyed drones and high-precision instruments. Aided by satellites, they analyze gas emissions and the flows of molten…Read More

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Thousands of Haitians at Southern Mexico Encampment Demand Help

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Migrants wait as they hope to receive help from the Mexican government to obtain humanitarian visas to transit Mexican territory, in Tapachula, Mexico December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Migrants wait as they hope to receive help from the Mexican government to obtain humanitarian visas to transit Mexican territory, in Tapachula, Mexico December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

TAPACHULA, Mexico, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Several thousand Haitian migrants have camped outside a stadium in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, pleading to be transferred to other states and given authorization to travel freely through Mexico and seek employment.

Mexican officials last week began moving hundreds of migrants to other states after they had endured lengthy waits for asylum and visas requests in Tapachula, aiming to head off migrant caravans heading north to the U.S. border.

Yet thousands more people remain in limbo in Tapachula, which is located near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Many on Wednesday told Reuters they were camping out at the stadium, which had been turned into a makeshift migration processing center, to be able to land spots on buses out of town offered by migration authorities.

Mexico’s migration institute did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We can’t leave the camp, we want to secure our place,” said Eliot John, from Haiti, who said he has slept at the camp several nights. “We do not want to go in a caravan because there are children and pregnant women with us, it is much more dangerous.”

Reuters photos show a ramshackle encampment of blankets hung between metal fences in a concrete parking lot under direct sun, with trash strewn about the ground.

Inside the stadium, dozens of migrants sat on the grass or in spectator seats.

Haitian migrant Roldy, who asked to not disclose his last name, said he has been waiting in Tapachula for four months and spent the last five nights outside the stadium with his wife and daughter.

“My family and I can’t keep putting up with hunger and thirst and sleeping on the street,” he said.

Marceline Pierre, also from Haiti, beseeched Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to take note of the unsanitary conditions and help him and his fellow migrants get paperwork to move freely through the country and find jobs.

“We’re not animals,” he said.

Reporting by Jose Luis Gonzalez and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Leslie Adler

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Mexico, U.S. to Launch Joint Plan to Contain Central America Migration

MEXICO CITY, Dec 1 (Reuters) – The Mexican and U.S. international development agencies will work together on a project in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador aimed at alleviating the root causes of migration, Mexico’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Dubbed “Planting Opportunities,” the project will bring together the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to target the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Central America.

Migration from the three countries has fueled record numbers of people being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, and both Mexico and the United States have vowed to tackle the deeper problems behind higher migration levels.

Mexico’s foreign ministry did not detail how much funding will be allocated for the scheme in its statement.

The U.S.-Mexico collaboration will begin in Honduras, with an effort to teach job skills to more than 500,000 at-risk youth, the ministry said.

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Paraguay: Epidemic of Childhood Pregnancy Fueled by Widespread Sexual Abuse

(CNN)  An epidemic of childhood pregnancy in Paraguay is being fueled by widespread sexual abuse and restrictive abortion laws, according to a new Amnesty International report.

At least 1,000 girls aged 14 or younger gave birth in the country between 2019 and 2020, the report says. It adds that more than 12,000 teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth in 2019.
The report, titled “They are girls, not mothers,” highlights a crisis of sexual violence against children, who are then forced to carry resulting pregnancies to term under Paraguayan law.
The South American nation’s abortion laws are some of the most extreme in the region, with the procedure criminalized in almost every circumstance, except when the life of the mother is recognized to be in danger.
Paraguay has one of the highest child and teenage pregnancy rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Early childbirth can pose significant health risks. Girls under the age of 15 are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, according to the Latin American Consortium against Unsafe Abortion.
Want to help survivors of child sex trafficking? Stop using these terms

Want to help survivors of child sex trafficking? Stop using these terms
In Paraguay, girls and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 19 account for one in ten maternal deaths nationwide, as well as 13% of maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortions, according to Amnesty.
Paraguay adopted a law in 2018 to prevent sexual abuse and guarantee comprehensive care for child and teenage survivors of sexual abuse. However, the report describes the law’s implementation as insufficient, highlighting holes in the protection of young people, “such as the absence of appropriate public policies and the failure to enforce existing laws to prevent abuse and provide redress when it does occur.”
Abortion rights activists demonstrate in Asuncion, Paraguay in 2018.

Abortion rights activists demonstrate in Asuncion, Paraguay in 2018.
“By action and omission, Paraguay is turning its back on its girls and teenagers as they face unimaginable abuses,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said.
“Girls have the right to a life free of violence. Forcing someone to continue with a pregnancy, particularly when it is the result of rape, is a form of ill-treatment that can be considered torture,” she added.
In 2019 alone, the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office received an average of 12 reports of sexual violence against children and teenagers every day, which in some cases resulted in pregnancy, according to the report.
Paraguay’s restrictive stance on abortion has drawn international attention before. In 2015, an 11-year-old gave birth after Paraguayan authorities denied her an abortion. The girl had become pregnant by her stepfather at the 10.

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Pfizer Boss: Annual Covid Shots Needed for Years to Come

By Fergus Walsh
Medical editor

 

BBC- People will be likely to need to have annual Covid vaccinations for many years to come, the head of Pfizer has told the BBC

Dr Albert Bourla said he thought this would be needed to maintain a “very high level of protection”.

The UK has now secured an extra 114 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to be delivered over the next two years.

A year ago the UK was the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Pfizers’s chief executive was speaking to the BBC before the emergence of the Omicron variant, first identified in South Africa and also before the announcement that the UK government had signed contracts to buy the 54 million additional Pfizer-BioNTech and 60 million Moderna doses for 2022 and 2023.

These deals include access to modified vaccines if needed to combat Omicron and future variants of concern, the Department of Health has said.

Dr Bourla said Pfizer had already made updated vaccines in response to the Beta, also first identified in South Africa, and Delta, first identified in India, variants but that they had not been needed.

The company is now working on an updated jab in response to the Omicron variant that could be ready in 100 days.

He said vaccines had helped save millions of lives during the pandemic, and without them the “fundamental structure of our society would be threatened”

By the end of the year Pfizer expects to have supplied three billion doses of its messenger ribonucleic-acid (mRNA) vaccine with four billion planned for next year.

There had been a global race to protect people protected, Dr Bourla said, but in 2022, countries would have “as many doses as they need”.

Share price

Several global health charities see the money Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are making out of the pandemic as immoral.

Pfizer will generate at least $35bn of Covid vaccine sales this year and has seen its share price soar.

But while most people in the world have now had at least one Covid jab, in parts of Africa it is less than one person in 20.

Vaccination in Cape Town
Many people in Africa remained unvaccinated

Dr Bourla was unapologetic about making a profit, saying “the bottom line is millions of lives were saved.”

He continued; “We have saved the global economy trillions of dollars.

“It is a strong incentive for innovation for the next pandemic.

“But people will see that if they step up to the game, to bring something that saves lives and saves money, there is also a financial reward.”

He denied profiteering – saying the jab was the “cost of a takeaway meal” for richer countries but sold at no profit to low-income ones – but accepted rich countries such as the UK had placed orders early and availability had initially been limited.

Having to be stored at -70C, the Pfizer vaccine has been tricky to deploy in countries with limited health services.

But within a month or so, Pfizer says it will roll out a new formulation of the vaccine that can be stored for three months in a fridge, which Dr Bourla said, would make a “huge difference” for sub-Saharan African countries.

Pfizer has also developed an antiviral pill, Paxlovid, which in trials cut hospital admissions and deaths by nearly 90%.

It should be approved in the US shortly and the UK government has agreed to buy enough for 250,000 patients.

‘Severe symptoms’

Pfizer is also conducting Covid-vaccine trials in the under-fives.

And in October, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer jab for five to 11-year-olds.

Immunising that age group in the UK and Europe would be a very good idea, Dr Bourla said.

“Covid in schools is thriving,” he said.

“This is disturbing, significantly, the educational system, and there are kids that will have severe symptoms.

“So there is no doubt in my mind that the benefits, completely, are in favour of doing it.”

The mRNA vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna have now taken over almost completely from the UK developed Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

‘Right thing’

And Dr Bourla had a strong message for those who did not want to have vaccines.

“For those that are just afraid, the only emotion of human beings stronger than fear is love,” he said.

“So I am using always this argument that the decision to get another vaccine is not going to influence only your health, it is going to affect the health of others and particularly the health of the people you love the most, because they are the ones that you will interact with.

“So take the courage to overcome your fears and do the right thing.”

He has recently been the target of some bizarre fake news stories, alleging the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrested him for fraud and his wife had died as a result of side-effects from the Pfizer vaccine – both untrue.

“In the first news, that I was arrested by the FBI, of course I laughed,” he said.

“On the second news, that my wife died, with a picture of her, I was really [angry].

“I worried about my kids, so I tried to call them and I could not get my son on the phone.

“What we had to go through, it is nothing compared to the lives that will be lost because of the rubbish that those people published, because people will really think that my wife died because of the vaccine… and she is fine – she is wonderful.”

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Omicron Likely to Spread Globally, First US Omicron Case Detected in California

Omicron likely to spread beyond Canada and Brazil, says regional health agency

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Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words "Omicron SARS-CoV-2" in this illustration taken, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Syringes with needles are seen in front of a displayed stock graph and words “Omicron SARS-CoV-2” in this illustration taken, November 27, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

BRASILIA, Dec 1 (Reuters) – The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus is likely to soon spread to other countries in North and South America after being detected in Canada and Brazil, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said 24 countries have reported cases of the variant, prompting many nations to tighten their borders. read more

“It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease,” said PAHO Director Carissa Etienne, adding that it will take time to test the variant.

“Speed and transparency are especially critical at this time. But above all, we urge people not to be frightened.”

Until the neutralization tests and other laboratory assays are completed, experts will not have enough evidence to determine the degree of transmissibility or severity of the Omicron variant, or to assess the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines against it, Etienne told reporters on a webcast news conference.

Over the last week in North America, COVID-19 cases in Canada and the United States remained steady but high, while infections and deaths have dropped by over 20% in Mexico, the regional health agency said.

In Central America, every country except Panama has seen a reduction infections and deaths, PAHO reported.

In South America, cases in Southern Cone countries have increased steadily for the past several weeks, while in the Andean region and in Brazil, infections are plateauing.

Omicron was designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Friday. read more

Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Mark Porter and Lisa Shumaker

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First US omicron case detected in California

By Nathaniel Weixel and Morgan Chalfant

The U.S. has detected the nation’s first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday.

The individual is a fully vaccinated San Francisco resident who returned from South Africa on November 22, the CDC said. The person had mild symptoms, which are improving, and is self-quarantining.

All close contacts have also tested negative, the CDC added.

During a press briefing shortly after the case was disclosed, chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci urged Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and said that those who are eligible should get their booster shots, describing the vaccines as the best protection against the virus and the omicron variant.

“We know what we need to do to protect people,” Fauci told reporters while encouraging Americans to wear masks in congregate settings to prevent the spread of the virus.

“[T]he fact is that people should wind up getting vaccinated and boosted if they’re eligible for a boost. I keep coming back to that because that’s really the solution to this problem,” Fauci said.

He said the infected individual had not received a booster.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also told reporters that President Biden has been briefed on the omicron variant, noting that he meets with his medical team on a daily basis. Biden is slated on Thursday to outline plans to combat the coronavirus, and particularly the omicron and delta variants, during the winter months.

The person entered the U.S. four days before South Africa announced the discovery of the variant, and tested positive on Nov. 29, the same day the Biden administration’s ban on travelers from eight African countries took effect.

The ban has come under fire from prominent health experts and former administration officials who say it is ineffective and punitive against African countries, especially as Western countries have failed to deliver needed vaccine supplies and logistics to the continent.

Fauci, however, defended the policy as necessary to buy time to better understand the new variant but said it was only temporary.

“We did struggle with that,” Fauci said on Wednesday in response to a question from a reporter for Today News Africa. “We wanted to see if we could buy time, temporarily, so I do hope that this gets sorted out and lifted before it has any significant impact on your country.”

Fauci also said he doesn’t think Americans should be doing anything differently with their lives, and emphasized the importance of the mitigation strategies that are known to be effective — getting vaccinated, masking in crowded public spaces and physical distancing.

In a joint statement, California and San Francisco public health officials said the case was identified “thanks to California’s large-scale testing and early detection systems.”

The agencies said they are increasing testing at airports for arrivals from several countries identified by the CDC.

“We must remain vigilant against this variant, but it is not a cause for panic,” the agencies said.

It was widely expected that the variant would be detected in the U.S. It has already been identified in other countries, including the U.K. and Canada, even after many nations moved to restrict travel from southern African countries, where the first known case was discovered at the end of last week.

“As the President said last Friday, it was only a matter of time before the first case of Omicron was detected in the U.S. We are prepared to meet this challenge with science and speed,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a statement.

“The President’s medical team continues to believe that existing vaccines will provide some level of protection against severe illness from Omicron, and individuals who have gotten boosters have even stronger protection. As such, we urge all adults to get their booster shots and to get themselves and their kids vaccinated, if they haven’t already,” Zients continued.

Officials say it will take at least two weeks to have a better understanding of the transmissibility and severity of omicron and the degree to which vaccines protect against it.

In the meantime, the Biden administration is working with the three vaccine manufacturers to prepare for the possibility that vaccines will need to be adjusted in order to provide protection against the new variant, but any changes will take time.

Brett Samuels contributed.

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UK ministers secure 114m more Covid vaccines for next two years

Extra Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs for 2022 and 2023 ordered to ‘future proof’ vaccine programme

Vial of the US manufactured Moderna Covid-19 vaccine
Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Ministers in the UK have secured new contracts to buy 114m more Covid-19 vaccines for the next two years.

The deals, for 2022 and 2023, were accelerated after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, officials said. Under the agreements, the UK will buy 54m more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 60m more doses from Moderna.

These purchases are in addition to the 35m extra Pfizer/BioNTech doses ordered in August for delivery in the second half of 2022, officials said. The UK is also still expecting 60m Novavax and 7.5m GSK/Sanofi doses in 2022.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the new deals would “future proof” the UK’s vaccine programme and ensure protection for “even more people in the years ahead”.

There remains uncertainty about further health programmes. Some experts have warned that Covid-19 will have to be kept at bay by repeated vaccine campaigns, while others have said it is too early to tell whether annual vaccine boosters will be needed.

Officials at the Department of Health and Social Care said the new contracts included access to modified vaccines if needed to combat Omicron and future variants of concern.

A vaccination site at the 125th Devon County Show at the Westpoint Arena and Showground in Clyst St Mary near Exeter this summer.
Covid vaccine boosters in England: what has changed?

The government said it had enough supplies of both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech doses for the current expansion of the booster programme.

Ministers said this week that all adults in the UK would be offered a booster shot before the end of January, amid growing concerns about the Omicron variant. Vaccination experts advising the government have expressed preference for the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

Trial data suggest booster doses are generally well tolerated and provide a substantial increase in vaccine-induced immune responses, in particular, and that mRNA vaccines provide a strong booster effect.

Javid said: “These new deals will future proof the Great British vaccination effort, which has so far delivered more than 115 million first, second and booster jabs across the UK, and will ensure we can protect even more people in the years ahead.

“This is a national mission, and our best weapon to deal with this virus and its variants is to get jabs in arms. So when you are called forward, get the jab and get boosted.”

us different. When it’s never been more important, our independence allows us to fearlessly investigate, challenge and expose those in power.

 

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SV&G Gets $40m Christmas Gift from World Bank for Volcanic Eruption Relief

WASHINGTON,DC– The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today US$40 million for the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The project is also financed by a US$2 million grant from the European Union’s Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Facility, managed by the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

In April 2021, the La Soufrière volcano experienced explosive eruptions that damaged critical services, infrastructure, and agriculture, affecting the entire population of the island of St Vincent. The eruption also resulted in significant population displacement—approximately 22,400 people were evacuated from areas close to the volcano, many remaining in shelters for months. The natural disaster compounded the effects of COVID-19, creating financing needs estimated at US$175 million, 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2021.

“The people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have endured the twin shocks of the volcanic eruption and COVID-19. The project will help the country build back better while taking into account its vulnerability to natural disasters and the growing threat of climate change,” said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Country Director for Caribbean Countries.

“This project will support the government’s efforts to restore infrastructure, stimulate economic activity, and assist the most vulnerable in the population, particularly women. We hope that this project will be a catalyst for growth and strengthen the country’s resilience.”

The Volcanic Eruption Emergency Projectwill support the rapid restoration of critical infrastructure damaged by the volcanic eruptions. It will also improve the government’s capacity to respond to future emergencies, provide temporary grants to 4,000 displaced households, and be used to implement a cash-for-work program to support the labor-intensive work of ash and debris cleaning.

In April 2021, the World Bank provided US$20 million to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to address immediate needs, and the Bank allocated a further US$50 million for budget support in June 2021.The Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project financing, which is from the International Development Association (IDA), is interest-free with a maturity of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years.

 

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US CDC Warns Americans ‘Don’t Travel to Trinidad & Tobago’

by Laura Dowrich-Phillips

 

The US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) is warning Americans against travel to Trinidad and Tobago.

On Tuesday the CDC placed T&T in its Level 4 Very High category which advises US citizens to not travel to countries listed or to ensure they are fully vaccinated if they must travel to those countries.

The CDC warned, however, that because of the current situation in Trinidad and Tobago, even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.

T&T, which was previously at Level 3, joins a number of Caribbean countries that have been added to the Level 4 list over the last few months including Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Cayman Islands and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Bermuda and Guyana were dropped to Level 3 while the British Virgin Islands dropped to Level 1.

The CDC’s warning comes as T&T is experiencing a spike in COVID cases due to the Delta variant. There are no recorded cases of the new Omnicron variant that has been detected in other countries in Europe and Canada.

As of November 30, T&T registered 10,840 active cases of COVID-19 with 763 new cases. T&T has registered 2,158 deaths.

Over 643,000 people in T&T are fully vaccinated.

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UN: Famine, Hunger Increase in Caribbean & Latin America

A United Nations official from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Tuesday announced famine in Latin America and the Caribbean had increased at a higher rate compared to other regions in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is the sixth edition in which we must report bad news,” said Julio Berdegué Tuesday in Santiago, Chile, when releasing the 2021 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition. He added the situation has been deteriorating constantly since 2014, but it gained speed under the sanitary crisis.

“Hunger is one of the worst forms, the most serious, of food security, but in this region there are 267 million people who suffer from moderate and severe food insecurity,” Berdegué underlined, as sixty million people in 2019 alone joined the ranks of the undernourished.

“We must say it loud and clear: Latin America and the Caribbean are facing a critical situation in terms of food security,” Berdegué insisted. “There has been an almost 79% hike in the number of people living in hunger from 2014 to 2020.”

Food security deteriorated 9% between 2019-2020 throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. “No other region comes close to it,” Berdegué pointed out, “not even the poorest, like Africa.”

Berdegué also highlighted the private sector was key to finding solutions to this problem, because there cannot be positive action without a change in the productive strategies, where agri-food businesses are essential.

“Governments have to conduct the policies that provide the framework for this turn,” he said as he highlighted Chile’s performance in this regard.

But beyond nice words, the truth remained that the number of hungry people in Latin America and the Caribbean has risen by 30% since 2019 to reach its highest level in 15 years. More than 59 million people across the region currently are not getting enough to eat, an increase of 13.8 million people in just one year, according to UN agencies.

The prevalence of severe food insecurity (people without food or have gone a day or more without eating) reached 14% in 2020, a total of 92.8 million people, a huge increase compared to 2014, when it affected 47 , 6 million people.

“This is not solved with personal attitudes. What is required is a food system that satisfies the population in a healthy way.” Berdegué stressed.

Obesity also grew signitifcantly over the past few years, which is in itself another form of malnutrition stemming from unhealthy diets and life conditions. Between 2000 and 2016 it grew 9.5% in the Caribbean, 8.2% in Central America and 7.2% in South America. Childhood overweight has been increasing for 20 years in the region, and in 2020, 3.9 million children – 7.5% of those under five years of age – were overweight, almost 2 percentage points above the world’s average.

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Tel Aviv Overtakes Hong Kong, Paris and Zurich as World’s Most Expensive City

Surge up the table partly due to the strength of the national currency against the dollar, as well as increases in prices for transport and groceries

Tel Aviv has supplanted Hong Kong, Paris and Zurich as the most expensive city in the world, according to an annual study by The Economist Photograph: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images

The Israeli city climbed five spots in the past 12 months to take the unwanted title away from last year’s joint winners of Paris, Hong Kong and Zurich, according to the authoritative ranking system compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The French capital was joint second with Singapore, while Zurich and Hong Kong made up the rest of the top five. New York was in sixth, with Geneva in seventh, and Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Osaka rounding off the Top 10.

London rose three spots to 17 in the annual ranking, with Sydney up one to 14, and Melbourne up two to 16.

Tel Aviv’s surge up the table was partly due to the strength of the national currency, the shekel, against the dollar, as well increases in prices for transport and groceries.

It was ranked the second most expensive city for alcohol and transport, and fifth for personal care and sixth for recreation. It made the top third in all 10 of the EIU’s major spending categories, with its index score up by 5 points since last year.

The dislocation of the global economy as it recovers from the stop-start impact of pandemic-enforced lockdowns this year played a large part in the shake-up of the rankings.

A 46% rise in the price of petrol has contributed to inflation in the US jumping to 6.2% in October.
‘Wake up’: markets warn central banks to get a grip on inflation
The price of energy and food have rocketed in some countries thanks to restrictions on trade, labour shortages and ongoing supply chain bottlenecks. The average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol has soared by 21%, the survey found.

The data on 50,000 goods and services in 173 cities was collected in August and September as prices for freight and commodities rose. On average, prices rose 3.5% in local currency terms – the fastest inflation rate recorded over the past five years. The survey includes rental costs, but does not factor in property prices.

Upasana Dutt, head of worldwide cost of living at the EIU, said: “We can clearly see the impact in this year’s index, with the rise in petrol prices particularly stark,” adding that while central banks are expected to raise interest rates cautiously, reducing inflation.

Forty new cities were added to the rankings this year. The Scottish capital Edinburgh was the highest new entry on the charts, coming in at joint 27th on a par with cities with a high cost of living such as Auckland and Minneapolis. Two other new cities –Stuttgart and San Diego – also entered in the Top 50.

Rome saw the biggest drop as it fell 16 places to 48, with a particularly sharp decline in the cost of groceries and clothing. Bangkok and Lima were the second-biggest movers down the rankings, with significant declines in all categories.

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