Lifestyles

World shares are mixed and oil prices have risen after the European Union and the Group of Seven agreed on a boycott of most Russian oil and committed to a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian exports. Shares fell in Paris and Frankfurt but rose in London and Tokyo. Hong Kong's benchmark jumped 4.5% and the Shanghai Composite added 1.8% as more Chinese cities eased away pandemic precautions in a potential boon to the economy. Shares were mixed Friday on Wall Street, as investors fretted over inflation after a report showed U.S. wages were accelerating.

China is easing some of the world’s most stringent anti-COVID controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. But they have yet to say when they might end a "zero-COVID“ strategy that confines millions of people to their homes and set off protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign. Commuters in Beijing and at least 16 other cities are allowed to board buses and subways without a virus test in the previous 48 hours for the first time in months. The government announced plans to vaccinate millions of elderly people. That spurred hopes for quick reopening of the country. But health experts and economists warn it will be mid-2023 and possibly 2024 before “zero COVID” ends.

New Zealand is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it made the right decisions in battling COVID-19 and how it can better prepare for future pandemics. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday the coronavirus had posed the greatest threat to the nation’s health and economy since World War II. She said now was an appropriate time to examine the government’s response with the highest level of independent inquiry. Among the questions will be whether or not New Zealand took the right approach initially by imposing strict lockdowns and border quarantine restrictions in order to try and wipe out the virus entirely.