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Haiti imposes austerity measures as Iran war drives up oil prices and disrupts supplies

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government announced new austerity measures on Tuesday as the war in Iran disrupts critical oil supplies and drives up prices worldwide.

Officials in the troubled Caribbean country imposed a ban on the purchase of any new vehicles, will reduce fuel expenditures for public institutions and said that foreign travel will be limited to essential missions authorized by the prime minister.

In addition, security escorts will be limited to one vehicle in a country where gangs control an estimated 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and swaths of rural areas.

A statement signed by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said that the measures will allow the government “to anticipate serious repercussions on the already fragile macroeconomic balance and public finances in particular.”

“The government has no choice but to further reduce state spending,” the statement said.

Poverty across Haiti has deepened as gangs continue to seize control of more territory since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Countries around the world have taken other measures as the war rages on, including shifting to a four-day work week.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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