Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Mila buíochas
Stretch your limits
Lysteria: The things Ukraine does well… and not so well »p17
Body Matters »p18-19
Dublin rises in pricey city list
Legalising cannabis a danger, says UN
by joanne ahern DUBLIN is storming up the Cost of Living chart and is now the 21st most expensive city in the world to live. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit index, Dublin has leapt from 34th place in 2013, to just outside the top 20 this year. The capital’s top chart position ever was 16th, in 2006. Meanwhile, Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong as the most expensive city in the world. The Economist Unit puts this down to a strong Singapore dollar and high transport costs. Paris has been ranked as the secondmost expensive city in the world, with Oslo, Zurich and Sydney making up the top five. Caracas, Geneva, Melbourne, Tokyo and Copenhagen round off the top ten. The Unit cites ‘an artificially high official exchange rate’ as the reason behind Caracas’ top 10 inclusion. Report editor Jon Copestake said: ‘Improving sentiment in structurally expensive European cities combined with the continued rise of Asian hubs means these two regions continue to supply most of the world’s most expensive cities.’ London is the 15th most expensive city on the list. European cities account for more than half of the 24 that saw a relative increase in the cost of living. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, Mumbai has been named as the cheapest place to live, with Karachi, New Dehli, Damascus and Kathmandu making up the bottom five.
Cannabis: Warning from UN body
GETTING A GRIP ON THINGS: Taoiseach Enda Kenny meets former US president Bill Clinton outside Government Buildings in the city centre yesterday where he paid him a courtesy visit. They chatted about our economy, immigration reform and USIreland relations ahead of Mr Clinton’s trip to Derry today. He will honour former SDLP leader John Hume’s contribution to the peace process in the North in a speech at the city’s Guildhall Square Picture: PA
Keep Dublin tidy – Please recycle this Metro Herald when you are finished with it
LEGALISING cannabis poses a ‘grave danger to public health and well-being’, the UN has warned. Moves to legalise marijuana in Uruguay and the US states of Colorado and Washington were branded ‘misguided initiatives’ by the head of the International Narcotics Control Board, the UN body for enforcing drug treaties. Car accidents involving drug drivers testing positive for cannabis and cannabis-related treatment for teenagers have increased in Colorado since a medical cannabis programme was ‘poorly implemented’, the INCB said. In a report, INCB president Raymond Yans said: ‘INCB is concerned about some initiatives aimed at the legalisation of the… use of cannabis. Such initiatives would pose a grave danger to public health and well-being.’ The warning follows a vote by Uruguay’s parliament in December to approve a bill to legalise and regulate the sale and production of marijuana. Meanwhile, suppliers have been able to sell cannabis in Colorado since January, while this is due to be repeated in Washington state this summer.