Argentine savers 'drown' under spiralling prices as inflation hits 99%

Argentina's inflation rate has hit just shy of 100%, the government said on Tuesday, with savers feeling more pain from some of the world's fastest rising prices and workers' budgets straining as costs outstrip salaries.

The South American country, which has battled spiralling prices for years, saw monthly inflation speed up to 6% in January, in line with forecasts, while the annual figure hit 98.8%, the highest since hyperinflation in the 1990s.

Gisella Saluzzo, 30, a doctor in Buenos Aires, has had to tighten her belt.

ping 75%. It has taken a big bite from the popularity of the centre-left Peronist government of President Alberto Fernandez ahead of general elections in October. The conservative opposition now leads in the polls, as Argentines are fed up with inflation and many blame poor economic management and money printing by the government.

Brian Muliane, a 33-year-old chiropractor, said that between inflation and taxes his business struggled to survive.

ters, rampant gang violence and a longstanding political deadlock made worse by the assassination.

Tuesday’s arrests bring the total number of defendants in US custody to 11, including key players like James Solages and Joseph Vincent, both Haitian Americans. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

"The truth is that I live day to day, I look for low prices, I go to markets. We look for where the meat is cheaper, the vegetables are cheaper, and hunt for online promotions to get by," she told Reuters.

Rampant inflation has slammed the economy, forcing the central bank to hike interest rates to an eye-pop-

"In our work, between paying for one thing and another, along with taxes, they're drowning us," he said. "There are many who can't even work."

Inflation ended 2022 at 95% and could still accelerate this year despite government measures to fight it. Many have been forced to change their shopping habits and cut back on luxuries.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Colombians march to support President Petro’s social and economic reforms

Health authorities in St Lucia say they are closely monitoring the emergence of new coronavirus (COVID-19) variants and sub-variants as the country recorded one death and 178 new infections over a 30-day period.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sharon BelmarGeorge said the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs is closely monitoring the emergence of new variants and sub variants of COVID-19.

“At present we have sequenced about 12 sub-variants of Omicron circulating in the country. In addition to COVID-19 there are other respiratory viruses in circula- tion which may possess similar clinical presentation to COVID-19. In several countries, there has been a steep increase in cases of influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV),” Dr BelmarGeorge reported.

The authorities said that over the last few weeks, parents note that children seem to be developing recurrent respiratory infections.

“Most of the cases are mild in nature. This trend is anticipated as the measures that were placed during the management of COVID-19 also reduced the regular influenza cases over the last three years. Our population is now exposed to many different strains of influenza virus at this point,” the CMO added.

The Ministry said to reduce the impact, several measures should be followed including keeping healthy by consuming healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and water instead of sodas as well as maintaining sanitary measures at home and at school.

The Ministry said that while, globally, nearly 10.5 million new cases and over 90,000 deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic were reported in the last 28 days, ending February 5, it represents a decrease of 89 per cent and eight per cent, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Creditcards are becoming increasingly useless in Venezuela because of high inflation and government restrictions, hurting people already struggling to meet daily needs on low salaries, banking industry sources, analysts and consumers said.

The country's government imposed strict lending requirements during Venezuela's economic collapse - allowing banks to lend a maximum of 27% of their cash flow - sending local business owners abroad to seek loans.

And though the government of President Nicolas Maduro loosened currency controls in 2019 and let local banks open dollar-denominated accounts, many credit restrictions remain.

"They are useless," administrator Lina Pereira, from the central city of Valencia, said of her two credit cards, which both have low limits. "My parents bought appliances and computers with their credit cards, but that's a memory for Venezuelans."

As incomes have fallen and living costs have grown, credit cards have become vital for many people to make everyday purchases in supermarkets and pharmacies, even as credit limits stagnate and some banks eliminate the cards altogether.

"The banks don't have a way to lend and we need these credits," 36-year-old Pereira said, adding the total limit on her cards is now US$2 a month, so low she can no longer use them to buy food like she did a year ago.

Although some local credit cards have higher limits of between US$30 and US$100, they still fall short - the average monthly cost of feeding a family was some US$370 in December, according to the independent Venezuelan Finance Observatory. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Thousands of people took to the streets across Colombia's major cities on Tuesday to support economic and social reforms put forward by President Gustavo Petro as part of efforts to reduce poverty, exclusion and inequality in the South American country.

The rallies, called for by leftist Petro, took place one day after he presented a health reform to Congress which looks to prevent and treat diseases quickly, increase access, raise healthcare-sector salaries and fight corruption by eliminating payment intermediaries.

Petro also hopes to present reforms on labour and pensions, while also pushing for programmes to guarantee free access to university education for students without the money to do so, as well as delivering subsidies to impoverished families and the poor elderly.

"What President Petro is doing seems good to me, we need a change, for the poor to have access to health, education, decent housing," street vendor Maria Isabel Cubillos, 43, told Reuters in capital Bogota.

While Petro built a broad coalition in Congress with support from left, centre and right-wing parties, which helped him push through a tax reform late last year, projects such as the health reform have caused fractures both in that alliance and even within the government.

The marches are meant to signal to Congress and the Constitutional Court that the proposed reforms have widespread backing.

Laws approved by Congress must be examined by the Constitutional Court to assess their legality.

The marches took place without incident and peaceful, according to the government and Colombia's national police.

Colombia's opposition called for marches and rallies in cities across Colombia today to reject Petro's reforms, arguing they threaten the country's economic stability and risk plunging it into more poverty. (Excerpt from Reuters)