Nigeria food banks cut back on handouts as prices soar
Lagos, Nigeria Reuters At a warehouse in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, dozens of women patiently wait their turn to receive food handouts. Among them is 68-year-old widow Damilola Salami, who received an invitation to the facility just as she had almost run out of food. The Lagos Food Bank is a crucial lifeline to residents […]
Australia PM considers extra inflation relief as families struggle
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday his centre-left government would consider new cost-of-living relief measures ahead of the May budget but without stoking inflation. Australian households are under broad financial pressure from high inflation, which spiked as high as 7.8 per cent in December, 2022, before slowing to 5.4 per cent […]
Argentina’s Milei scores big in provinces, including Kirchner stronghold
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReuters Argentina’s shock primary election leader Javier Milei, a radical libertarian economist, scored the largest share of the national vote with big wins in the provinces, breaking in some places decades of Peronist party domination. Milei took 30 per cent of the national vote, ahead of the main conservative opposition bloc Together for […]
Argentine far-right outsider Javier Milei takes shock lead in primary vote
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReuters Argentine voters punished the country’s two main political forces in a primary election on Sunday, pushing a rock-singing libertarian outsider candidate into first place in a huge shake-up in the race towards presidential elections in October. With 65 per cent of ballots counted, far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei had 32.2 per cent […]
One in seven Britons faced hunger in 2022, says food bank charity
London, UKReuters One in seven people in the United Kingdom faced hunger last year because they did not have enough money, according to a report published on Wednesday by food bank charity the Trussell Trust. It said this equates to 11.3 million people, more than double the population of Scotland, and blamed a dysfunctional social […]
Heavens above! Church of England clergy demand pay rise for first time in history
London, UKReuters Even the clergy are not immune from Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, which has now forced Church of England vicars to make a formal pay claim for the first time in their nearly 500-year history. The trade union Unite, which represents more than 2,000 clergy and lay officers in the Church of England, said on […]
Argentines grill more steak despite pressures of 109 per cent inflation
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaReuters Argentines are expected to eat the most beef in five years in 2023, extending the country’s reign as the number one steak consumer per capita despite the painful impact of 109 per cent inflation on food prices, a Rosario grains exchange report showed on Friday. The major beef producer, where “asado” barbecues […]
Cuba says no quick fix as economic crisis drags on
Havana, CubaReuters There is no quick fix for Cuba’s sputtering economy, its economy minister said on Thursday, as inflation, fuel shortages, plunging farm production and a cash crunch drag on output and continue to fan discontent in the communist-run island nation. People buy vegetables on the street in downtown Havana, Cuba, on 30th November, 2022. […]
‘We can’t afford anything’: Turkey’s cost-of-living crisis threatens Erdogan’s re-election
Istanbul, TurkeyReuters Istanbul barber Hakim Ekinci, a long-time supporter of Tayyip Erdogan, won’t be voting for the president next Sunday, blaming his economic policies for eroding Turks’ purchasing power and leaving many unable to afford even basic foodstuff. Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party were able to maintain their voter base, made up mainly of […]
Zambians struggle with cost of living as debt rework drags on
Lusaka, Zambia Reuters The Comesa market in Zambia’s capital Lusaka appears to be bustling, but traders say business is suffering as a weak local currency pushes up prices, adding to the hardships of a population already struggling with soaring living costs. “The dollar is killing us,” said Ben Mwandila, who sold 15 imported blankets a […]