Millennium Post (Kolkata)

Tel Aviv is priciest city

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Tel Aviv is more expensive because it is the country's economic hub, with high paying tech jobs drawing talent from across the country who are driving up prices of food and rent.

“Israel is expensive, and in that regard, Tel Aviv is more expensive than other places in Israel's because that's where the good jobs are,” he said.

The city draws even more Israelis wishing to live close to its vibrant cultural and social scene. Compoundin­g the issue, Ben-David said, is major congestion leading into the city and inadequate transit to its suburbs and surroundin­g cities, sending even more people wanting to reside in the city. That, along with foreign buyers, has sent real estate prices skyrocketi­ng, making purchasing an apartment in Tel Aviv almost unattainab­le for the average Israeli. Even modest apartments in desirable areas can cost 4 million shekels, or over $1.2 million.

A decade ago, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand a solution to the rising cost of living.

Successive Israeli government­s have struggled to create better job opportunit­ies in other parts of the country and attempt to extend public transit are ongoing but slow.

effort of INSACOG consortium of 37 laboratori­es establishe­d by the health ministry. We need not panic, but awareness is absolutely essential.”

Meanwhile, with 9,765 new infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,46,06,541, while the active cases increased to 99,763, according to the Union Health ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll climbed to 4,69,724 with

477 fresh fatalities including, 403 from Kerala, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administer­ed in the country crossed 125.65 crore on Thursday, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, 84.3 per cent of the country's adult population have been administer­ed the first dose of the vaccine, while 49 per cent have received the second dose.

More than 66 lakh (66,21,382) vaccine doses were administer­ed till 7 pm on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Pfizer is working on an updated jab in response to the Omicron variant that could be ready in 100 days, according to the head of American multinatio­nal pharmaceut­ical giant, who said that people may need to have annual Covid vaccinatio­ns for many years to come.

Pfizer's chief executive Dr Albert Bourla told the BBC that he is of the view that annual vaccinatio­ns would be needed to maintain a “very high level of protection” against the deadly disease that has claimed over five million lives across the world.

Bourla 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.

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

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